What is a roll off container liner? Simply put, it is a large disposable plastic liner that is used in roll off assemblies, dump trucks, and rail gondolas. It basically serves as a large trash bag for your roll-off dumpster. Over the years more and more companies have started to use roll off liners, and there are a few different reasons as to why. Some of the commonly known benefits include reducing the risk of leaks during transit, reducing your washout costs, and they increase the life of the container. Also, it is common for regulations to be put in place by each state mandating that you use a liner when hauling specific materials such as asbestos, for example.
If you are not familiar with roll-off liners, there are many different industries using them and a variety of materials that you should use a liner for when transporting them. Some of the industries using liners include oil and gas, construction, food processing, water treatment plants, sewer plants, dewatering sludge, municipal waste, industrial waste, and even restaurants, airports,malls, etc. that do not have self-contained dumpsters. Some of the materials that are being transported with the liners are drill cuttings, contaminated soils, asbestos, various sludge, recycled sewage, food waste, wet trash, concrete washout, materials in liquid powder form, and municipal waste. You can use a liner for any material even if your material is not going to cause any leakage. It will still provide a barrier between your container and the material keeping your roll off dumpster much cleaner which can help you avoid some other costs such as washout costs.
Many people who may not know a lot about liners may not be sure if they are worth the additional cost. During a recentstudy, we found out that on average it takes 45 minutes to clean out a container without a liner. During the winter months, this time can increase to around 1 hour and 20 minutes to clean a container without a liner. This is due to the materials freezing to the container walls which can also cause you to incur a dig out fee. Dig out fees are usually around $100-$150 so with the cost of one dig out fee you could’ve saved yourself quite a bit of money by just using a liner. The labor time and cost is another important thing to take into consideration. The driver may have up to almost an hour and a half in cleaning out the container. If they used a liner and reduced this time,then they could spend that time servicing more customers, thus being more efficient. Another important thing to note is that without a liner you may have some material leak out onto someone’s vehicle which would lead to a claim and an investigation which is all an added cost to you. All of this couldbe avoided with a simple couple minute installation of a liner. The one benefit that is difficult to prove is whether or not the liners are prolonging the life of the containers. We have discussed this with many people in the waste industry, and almost everyone we spoke to believes that they are prolonging the life of the roll offcontainer. Since the liners provide ultimate leak protection, the liquidsare contained in the liner, and they do not just sit in the container, which helps reduce the chance of your dumpster rusting. Also, using the liner avoids the dig out fee. When the material has to be dugout of the container the dumpster can be damaged due to the scraping involved in getting some of the material out. It seems like common sense that the liners would indeed be prolonging the life of the dumpsters.
The containers themselves are expensive pieces of equipment and should be utilized as long as possible. The liners are an inexpensive way to increase the life of your container while providing other great benefits as well. If you can cut down your unloading and clean out time by simply installing a liner in only 2-3 minutes then why not do so? You will save money on your labor, dig out fees, claims/investigations, and your drivers will have more time to service other customers since they will be spending less time unloading and cleaning out the containers. If you have any questions or would like to learn more, you can contact your Global-Pak sales representative or follow this link-http://www.global-pak.com/roll-off-container-liners.