Interest in the compact machines are increasing in the recycling, construction and demolition industries.

The use of mini excavators or compact excavators in the recycling, construction and demolition industries has been steadily increasing. And this is due to their compact size, easy maneuverability and cheaper cost – compared to larger, more pricy backhoe loaders.

Mini excavators are remarkably versatile, particularly in tight spaces and have become very popular in construction and demolition (C&D) as well as in the recycling industry.

High performance mini excavators are great for jobs in confined spaces, such as close to walls, fences, buildings or front yards. They have the power, the capacity and the versatility to be used in a variety of jobs. These compact excavators are great for home owners or sole traders in the building or landscaping industry and are a useful addition to a fleet of larger demolition or recycling excavators used in large commercial jobs. Mini excavators make short work of:

These compact excavators are easy to use, you need no special license and are great in urban areas where space is a problem. Use them to dig out the footings and level the base for driveways, dig holes for landscape work or transport soil, mulch or bricks through narrow gateways to the back of buildings. Tear out swimming pools, pathways and driveways, demolish small buildings and retaining walls then move the debris for transport to a landfill or for recycling. Remove falls trees or clear a paddock and transport rocks for constructing retaining walls.

With a reduced or zero tail swing, a mini excavator is like a full size machine compacted into a compact package that has a 360-degree swing and the ability to move on a dime in tight spaces. If you want power and versatility, then a mini excavator is the only choice for the job.

Construction and demolition work create a massive amount of materials which can be safely recycled rather than disposed of as waste products. The building industry accounts for about half of all the solid waste generated worldwide. Recycling of these products not only helps the environment but can also put some hard cash in your pocket. Some of the materials that can be moved by mini excavators and recycled include:

There are a number of attachments for mini excavators that can make separating materials for recycling easy and efficient.

The machine must be a good fit for the job. So you need to know the digging depth and the weight of the mini excavator. A machine that under-sized may be cheaper but might not be up to the job at hand, and a machine that is too big or heavy will use more fuel.

Another point is to make sure that the size of the buckets fit the machine. Fully laden, oversized buckets can result in the machine tipping over whereas undersized buckets make the job less efficient and more costly on time and fuel.

Make sure that the width of the mini excavator can fit through any narrow gates or through-ways on the work site. Mini excavators are popular due to their compactness but you don’t want to end up with one that cannot do the job. And machine width will depend on engine size, so ensure that the mini excavator you select has both engine capacity and the narrow width for your job.

This story was submitted on behalf of Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd.

Subsidiary of Suez Environnement North America lands five-year agreement worth $75 million.

The city of Edmonton, Alberta, has contracted with SENA Waste Services on a five-year agreement worth approximately $75 million to operate and maintain two key portions of the Edmonton Waste Management Centre. Under the new agreement, SENA Waste Services will maintain and operate the Edmonton Composting Facility (ECF) and provide important maintenance support services for the Integrated Process and Transfer Facility (IPTF) and the Construction & Demolition (C&D) Facility. SENA Solid Waste Holdings Inc., an Alberta-based corporation, is a joint venture between Suez Environnement North America and AECOM. “This selection represents an important milestone that clearly demonstrates SENA Waste Services is well-regarded by the city of Edmonton, which is one of world’s most sustainable cities,” says Bertrand Camus, CEO of Suez Environnement North America. SENA Waste Services and its predecessor companies have worked with the city of Edmonton since 2001. According to Philippe Allouche, general manager, SENA Waste Services, the Edmonton Waste Management Centre is a unique collection of advanced waste processing and research facilities. Owned and operated by the city of Edmonton Waste Management Services, the center is North America's largest collection of modern, sustainable waste processing and research facilities and is an integral part of Edmonton’s approach to waste management. “In just over 20 years Edmonton has traveled from a relatively simple waste management system to one of the most sophisticated in the world,” says Bud Latta, director, processing and disposal, Edmonton Waste Management Services. “We are proud of our accomplishments and excited to partner with SENA Waste Services in bringing innovative solutions to the residents and businesses of Edmonton.” The IPTF maintained by SENA Waste Services allows the separation of waste into three categories:

The C&D Facility recycles wood, drywall, asphalt shingles, concrete, metals and brush and trees. The Edmonton Composting Facility operated and maintained by SENA Waste Services is the largest composting facility in the country, allowing for composting of both organic solid waste and biosolids material. According to Latta, the city of Edmonton currently diverts up to 60 percent of household waste from landfill through recycling and composting. The organic portion of the household waste is sorted out and composted. “Our waste diversion success is the result of effective, early strategic planning and now solid operational execution,” he said. “SENA Waste Services has become an important part of those operations and plays a key role in our successes.” "By making recovery a priority development focus, Suez EnvironnemenT has gradually become a producer of renewable energy and a leader in resource management. The circular economy is at the heart of our strategy and today we bring our clients much more than waste treatment services; we offer them renewable solutions as demonstrated by the exemplary case of Edmonton," concludes Marie-Ange Debon, deputy CEO in charge of International Business at Suez Environnement.

Photo caption: SENA Waste Services employees working at the Edmonton Waste Recycling Facility's aeration hall.  

Three weeks of public comment and hearings planned on proposed rule.

Jack Henderson-Adams will cover portions of New England for the McCloskey International dealer.

Single-stage machine will be exhibited at WasteExpo 2014.

AMUT Ecotech, part of Italy's AMUT Group, will exhibit its new SBS 201 single-stage, mobile ballistic separator at WasteExpo 2014 in Atlanta. AMUT says the new ballistic separator, which can be added to existing lines, is capable of being mounted on a flat-bed trailer. The company says the SBS 201's hook-lift separator divides materials into three different streams: a flat fraction, comprising polyethylene (PE) film, paper and cardboard; a tube fraction, for containers and cans with a cylindrical shape; and a rejected fraction. According to AMUT Ecotech, the SMS 201 offers a maximum processing capacity of 5 tons per hour, with conveyor speeds of 60 meters per minute. Standard perforations measure 50 by 50 millimeters, but other sizes are available upon request, the company says. AMUT Ecotech offers several plants and equipment designed to process, screen or transport various material streams, such as compost, refuse derived fuel (RDF), curbside collections, paper, electronics, plastic, glass and tires. AMUT Group has also a special division dedicated to the manufacture of recycling and full wash plants for PET bottles and HDPE containers. According to AMUT, washed PET (polyethylene terepthalate) and HDPE (high-density polyethylene) flakes from its processing lines are almost comparable to virgin PET and consequently may be suitable for “bottle to bottle” and "bottle to packaging" applications. The company's product line also includes its de-labeller, which removes sleeves from bottles, and its friction washer, which eliminates contaminants from the PET flakes or bottles.