Pete’s Ace Hardware

Challenge

Pete’s Ace Hardware, a Castro Valley fixture since 1926, was swimming in cardboard boxes and had overflowing trash issues. Tight on space, the owner wanted to streamline what they were doing and improve the appearance of his store.

Solution

Bay Area Trash Compactor placed our quiet Bramdian B20 cardboard baler and our Summit SV2 Compactor side-by-side. The systems are tucked behind a cyclone fence/gate that shelters the equipment from shoppers, yet is easily accessible by staff.

The B20 Baler crushes 400-500 boxes into an easy-to-handle 500-650 lb bale of cardboard. No more wasting time flattening boxes — instead, staff just throws boxes into the hole! Ace saves labor, eliminates unsightly overflowing Omnipak crates, and has now closed the loop on their recycling. The bales are simply loaded into the Ace Hardware delivery truck and returned to the Distribution Center where bales are gathered and sold for top dollar to the Recycler.

Savings

The SV2 Compactor packs 10-12 loose tards of trash into its 2-yard bin. This resulted in dropping pickups from 1-4 yard bin 3 days per week to one 2-yard bin once per week – slashing garbage costs and saving over $10,000 per year.