Golden State Foods (GSF) is one of the largest food service suppliers in the world servicing approximately 125,000 restaurants in more than 60 countries. The GSF Waipahu distribution center located in Oahu, Hawaii supplies product to all 76 McDonald’s and 84 Starbucks stores in the Hawaiian islands. Tony Hernandez, Operations Manager for the Waipahu GSF distribution center, was looking for a better waste handling solution for cardboard and plastic foil. He found it in the Orwak 9020 multi chamber baler.
Managing Cardboard and Plastic Foil Before the Orwak 9020
Before GSF invested in the Orwak 9020, waste handling was a big challenge. Most items delivered to the GSF Waipahu distribution center were in cardboard boxes or were wrapped in plastic foil. The plastic foil, which represented 1% of the recycled material, was collected in super sacks, which were left outdoors to be picked up by recyclers, while cardboard, which represented 99% of their recycled material, was left out in the yard in unbound stacks.
This meant when the wind was strong, cardboard boxes blew all over the parking lot. It was messy and time consuming for the staff to go out and gather it back up. “That was the worst thing about the old solution,” according to Tony, “We had to chase cardboard all over the yard!”
Tony recalled the Orwak balers and compactors he had seen at the McDonald’s he delivered to. The balers created compact, organized cardboard bales that meant cleaner, more spacious back rooms. That’s when it hit him. “McDonald’s stores bought the smaller Orwak balers, so I thought it was a good idea to have one in our operation too,” according to Tony. “We purchased the Orwak 9020 in 2013. It was exactly the right size for us and has worked just fine since then - no break downs, no issues whatsoever. It is a very reliable and stable machine.”
What’s Better Than Reliable? Cleaner, Safer, Cheaper and Reliable!
Despite the tall order, it only takes one Orwak 9020 multi chamber baler to manage all the cardboard and plastic for the 40,000 square foot Waipahu distribution center. Just last year, the Orwak 9020 produced 1492 cardboard bales and 72 plastic bales. (Seven plastic super sacks compact into 1 bale using the Orwak 9020. Wow!) In addition, “The recycler picked up the bales for free, so we no longer had to pay for the trash collection,” states Tony. “And the clean environment - the best part!”
The Top 10 Reasons Why GSF Was Proud to Invest in the Orwak 9020 Multi-Chamber Baler
1 - The Orwak 9020 manages both cardboard and plastic waste; one chamber for cardboard and one chamber for plastic.Orwak Baler's Try and Buy Program is as simple and easy as it sounds. Try an Orwak baler for 21 days with $0 down. After 21 days, rent, buy or lease an Orwak baler and make costly trash pick-ups a thing of the past.