As Austrian manufacturer RubbleMaster celebrates its 15th anniversary, we take a look at how compact machines have enabled ‘on-site’ recycling become a key part of the waste and recycling industry - with the potential for even greater growth.
by Malcolm Bates
It sometimes takes a one-off event like a 15th birthday party to remind us of just how much the world of waste and recycling has changed over the last couple of decades. On the one hand, the recycling of materials such as paper, textiles and metals has been with us for over 50 years. But it’s only recently that the whole idea of reusing reclaimed materials in the construction industry has been seen as just as essential a part of a global waste strategy as reducing the amount of household waste we bury in holes in the ground.
Indeed, these two industries - the extraction of building materials and waste disposal - have historically been on two sides of the same coin. That shared history comes not only from corporate links behind some of the largest commercial organizations in waste disposal today, it also comes from links in the manufacturing of the machinery utilized in both industries.
This is nowhere more true than in the design of screens and crushers. If we also look at how various types of construction machinery have developed over the past two decades, we will find that as wheeled loaders and excavators have become larger and more powerful on what might term ‘front line’ operations such as aggregate and quarried stone handling, so new generations of ‘compact’ machine have been developed to enable operators to undertake other tasks in more confined areas - such as in construction.
It’s an ongoing process and very similar to how certain models of car ‘grow up’ in terms of size, power and refinement - leaving space at the lower end of the range for a new ‘mini’. The only problem has been that, until recently, most ‘compact’ and ‘micro’ machines lacked power and refinement. But all that has changed and, with servo controls and factory options of air-conditioned cabs to a standard as good as in full-sized machines, a compact excavator or wheeled loader really can now be driven all shift long - even in tough environments such as waste disposal or demolition.
A tough job
While the urgent need to reduce household waste through recycling is now part of everyday vocabulary, the ‘hidden giant’ of industrial and construction materials recycling has received much less attention. But the realization that we can’t just keep on quarrying and mining all the materials required for the future needs of the construction industry while at the same time continuing to tip all the stuff we don’t need into landfill, has finally started to receive media attention.
The challenge is to find the equipment to do the job efficiently without dramatically increasing costs. On-site materials recycling meets that brief. It not only reduces the need for large, expensive fixed facilities, it is also much quicker to activate and saves on ‘waste miles’ - all environmental advantages. But the job is a demanding one, as any machine capable of undertaking it has to be as tough as a production ‘quarry’ machine while be compact enough to fit onto a restricted urban redevelopment site.
So how Gerald Hanisch, founder and managing director of HMH RubbleMaster, made the connection over 15 years ago has to be some story. Was it that he saw greater restrictions on mineral extraction and fewer places to bury waste as a business opportunity? Was it that he saw the emergence of new breeds of compact excavator and loader as a sign that other machines such as crushers and screens might also benefit from ‘downsizing’ and thus being able to work on-site? Or had he already worked out that the pressure on global resources would one day make the recycling of building materials just as desirable as the recycling of metal, plastics or paper?
As the official dealer launch of the new RubbleMaster RM100 coincided with celebrations to mark the 15th anniversary of the company, an invitation to attend the party at the company’s modern factory in Linz, Austria, gave me the opportunity to find the answers to those fundamental questions.
‘The original idea was to develop a range of products that made the concept of recycling more visible and accountable to local communities,’ Gerald Hanisch explained. ‘When waste materials are trucked away to a distant location, they become someone else’s problem and responsibility. There is no incentive to either reduce waste volumes or to separate waste streams efficiently. Unfortunately, when materials get mixed and contaminated, their value is also far less. Sorting and recycling materials at source brings added accountability and I would argue, increased value of the materials recycled.’
‘The problem was that there were not the machines available to meet this need. Quarry-based crushers and screens were too large, too heavy and, just as important, too expensive for many contractors to contemplate. There were certainly technical issues to resolve, but we also wanted to make our machines look attractive because they would be seen in urban areas.’ A tall order? ‘Yes, it took us at least 10 years to get our philosophy across’, said Gerald Hanisch. From a zero start, his self-confessed habit of ‘thinking outside the box’ has helped the RubbleMaster brand to expand into most European markets as well as into those in North America, Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Rim.
Gerald Hanisch talks about recycling issues with the passion most men would apply only to football, fast cars or other hobbies. However, it’s clear that this enthusiasm is infectious - both among the 70+ staff at the Linz factory and RubbleMaster dealers throughout the world. At an evening awards ceremony, the global potential of on-site materials recycling was underlined by the fact that dealers from throughout Europe, the US and Australia competed for the honours with more recent signings from Hungary, the Czech Republic and Russia.
A new dynamic
The foresight of Gerald Hanisch and his team has not only been a major plank in the concept of compact ‘on-site’ recycling machinery, but there are now signs that the existence of more compact units is helping to create a new dynamic to the recycling industry. This might be very much a ‘chicken and egg’ situation but, as Dave Schielein, President of ORS (On-site Recycling Corporation) - a RubbleMaster distributor based in Peoria, Illinois - explains, having an attractive-looking, compact range of crushers and screens that can be easily transported from one site to another is changing the whole way in which construction companies think. ‘Having a machine that contractors are proud to put their logo and phone number on is just as important as earning potential,’ he suggests.
And while those of us in Europe, with our high fuel prices, might look at the price of diesel fuel in the USA with envy, recent price rises have become a major issue for US operators. It was once a simple matter to dispose of construction waste by trucking it somewhere else for processing or disposal. Now the potential for considerable reduction in truck movements that can result from recycling materials and reusing them on-site is proving a very attractive idea.
But more widespread crushing and screening of demolition waste materials on-site will only develop further if such machines are able to operate in populated urban areas (where most demolition sites tend to be) without creating additional emissions. And this is now a major element of the RubbleMaster philosophy. As Gerald Hanisch explained, the reduction of noise, vibration and dust emissions has been at the heart of the design decisions he and his team have made with the introduction of each new machine. This is especially apparent when looking over the all-enclosed panels of the RM70 and the brand new RM100, which goes into production this month.
Reduced downtime
Powered by a 181 kW, water-cooled John Deere diesel engine with attention to noise reduction (using what RubbleMaster terms ‘Enviro Technology’) and the location of the cooling system components, the up to 200 tonnes/hour throughput RM100 has a crusher inlet aperture of 700-950 mm.
Low operational noise, lack of vibration and dust suppression measures certainly make operation next to occupied buildings in busy downtown sites far more acceptable than with traditional air-cooled diesel machines. Using either a two or four hammer crusher unit, the total machine weight of the RM100 in crawler track configuration is 28 tonnes, making transportation without special permits a simple matter. Controls that are easy-to-reach from ground level are supplemented by a remote control console that can be readily stowed in the cab of any 360° excavator. A major advance is that wear parts can be inspected safely and quickly and, if need be, replaced by just one fitter working alone - reduced downtime can be a vital element when working on a restricted site.
While it is true the design of the new RM100 is aimed at making it look visually attractive, there are operational benefits even here. The smooth exterior panels are instrumental in reducing noise. They also open up easily to enable daily checks and major inspections to be made from ground level wherever possible - a major contribution to safety.
Even after many years of operation, all original RM50 machines, which were introduced in 1993, are still said to be in operation. This suggests an additional bonus. Judging by the conversations with distributors, RubbleMaster machines are in considerable demand on the second-hand market where high build quality and clean ‘styling’ have contributed to low levels of overall depreciation and high resale values.
Big incentive
Indeed, it is the ‘look’ of RubbleMaster machines and the lower cost of both initial purchase and transportation that Gerald Hanisch identifies as being the main differences between designing new generations of compact machines and existing machines. In some markets, having a compact materials recycler and matching screen that can be moved and installed on-site without the need for the permits required for larger machines is a big incentive to ‘think small’. RubbleMaster has four models in its range starting with the VS-60 Pre-Screen and the OS80 Oversize grain separator for the RM80 to the CS3600/2 and CS2500/2 twin deck final screens with a 0-4 to 0-40 mm range.
So how does the concept of compact demolition waste recycling machinery fit into a bigger waste reduction strategy? The simple answer is that, until recently, it probably didn’t. Whether a perceived increase in demand for building materials will help focus on ways to reduce costs and ‘waste miles’, or whether the earning potential of new machines like the RM100 will help bring further new innovative working methods into our industry is hard to judge. Perhaps the ideal solution would be a mix of both.
With new generations of compact wheeled loaders, telehandlers and excavators to feed them and to distribute reclaimed materials on-site, compact crushers and screens now fit in as part of a matched ‘system’ alongside compact trailer-mounted green waste shredders. Together they can dramatically reduce the amount of waste materials that need to be shipped out of - and new materials shipped into - a site by road. And that has to be good for the environment.
Malcolm Bates is Transport Correspondent of Waste Management World.
e-mail: wmw@jxj.com
