by Brianna Crandall — January 11, 2016—Most businesses and institutions can save money and support sustainability by auditing the size and material used for their trash can liners, according to Randy Orscheln, director of janitorial and sanitation products for Inteplast Group, a major U.S. manufacturer of can liners and parent company of can liner manufacturer Pitt Plastics.
Orscheln explained that plastic resin, the raw material used for can liners, generally represents 50 percent or more of a can liner’s total cost. If you’ve ever seen a can liner that hangs more than 4 to 6 inches over the rim of a receptacle, you’ve seen wasted raw material, he advised, adding that resources are also wasted if a can liner is far heavier or stronger than necessary.
Orscheln said:
Our sales representatives conduct can-liner audits for high volume users such as educational institutions and healthcare providers. They often find opportunities to reduce costs and waste because the client’s purchasing specifications are out of date and don’t optimally match their waste container sizes or applications.
We’ve studied typical trash-receptacle sizes and their applications in depth and have the absolute perfect fit and material for each. We manufacture more than 300 different can liners as stock items at Pitt Plastics as part of a product offering we call The Pitt Fit Can Liner System.
Orscheln referenced the 44-gallon round, one of the most popular trash receptacle sizes in the United States, as an example:
If a company is using a 38-by-58-inch can liner for a 44-gallon round receptacle, instead of a 37-by-50-inch Pitt Fit liner, 16 percent of the raw material is wasted. For a customer that buys 100 cases a month, that represents 220 pounds of wasted raw material per month, or 2,640 pounds a year, the rough equivalent of $4,000 to $5,000 in material costs.
For slim-style cans, Orscheln said the waste quotient for using the wrong liner is far greater, as much as 44 percent. “A few small changes can go a long way in source reduction and savings,” he advised.
Inteplast Group and Pitt Plastics note that they have online tools and product grids for customers to calculate and determine the right can liners. In addition, their sales representatives are provided with comprehensive phone and tablet apps to calculate optimum fit and educate their customers.
Here are their key tips for choosing the right can liner:
- Determine the proper liner type for the application, whether linear low density or high density. (Typically, linear low density has a heavier feel and is more opaque, while high density is thinner in feel and able to hold more weight at lower gauges.) Ask the question: Are sharp objects being thrown away? If yes, linear low can liners are recommended. If no, choose high density can liners.
- Determine what size container the liner needs to fit. Overhang should not exceed 4 to 6 inches; anything more wastes material and money. Gallon capacity is usually printed on receptacles.
- Decide how much weight it needs to hold. Determine the weight of a full can liner in that environment. Then, refer to the capacity charts in the Pitt Plastics 2015 product catalog or Inteplast Group Web site.
For more information about Inteplast Group or Pitt Plastics, visit the companies’ Web sites.
