McKeesport, PA - A new wet-and-dry stationary compactor reduces truck travel time, results in less fuel burned, and offers more convenience to customers, say officials at Glosser Manufacturing Co., which developed the product.

Glosser, based in McKeesport, Pa., is field-testing the industry's first liquid recovery stationary compactor at Giant Eagle, a grocery chain based in Pittsburgh. The Wet 'N' Dry System offers the same benefits as a self-contained compactor but lets the hauler exchange the receiving container instead of taking it to a landfill and returning with the empty unit, said Raymond Lackner, the firm's executive vice president.

The Wet 'N' Dry concept came from Stan Ruminski, a waste industry consultant based in Chicago who retired after 40 years with Waste Management, Inc. "When I first came in touch with Glosser, I was in charge of new equipment development. I wanted WMI's operating division to test a patented pre-crusher that Lackner was developing. We got quite a few machines out and I was able to bring Glosser and Waste Management together in a $17 million dollar hauling and equipment deal involving Glosser's new technology before I retired."

"As I went through my old records I came across a project that I had worked on many years before involving inefficiencies to operations caused by industries that used self-contained compactors because of high liquid refuse. The turnaround time was reducing profits because the hauler couldn't switch out the container but rather had to go to the customer empty, pick up the receiver and combined compactor and take it to the landfill, empty the unit and return it to the customer before going to him next assignment."

"What the industry needed was to make it possible for the customer and the hauler to realize some savings," Ruminski said.

The problem, though, was the container exchange wouldn't work with the current system because liquid could seep out. If someone could find a way to contain the liquid in the compactor and separate it from solid trash, the idea could work. Ruminski told Glosser, which he calls "a very high-tech niche compactor company," about the industry weakness. He discussed the problem with Lackner, who came up with the original design for the liquid separation system, then Daniel Glosser, President, and Robert Zewe, General Manager, made improvements on the design including prevention of damages due to freezing. After developing the prototype, Lackner called Jim Lampl, director of Giant Eagle's resource conservation department.

Lampl agreed to test the system at the McCandless store, which Giant Eagle was remodeling. Lampl said the store had been satisfied with its trash procedures before, but was willing to try something new.

"This is just a better way of doing it," Lampl said of the system. "These are the advantages we see:

• First and most importantly, the system allows the hauler to switch out the container, thus eliminating dead head hauls.
• The immediate benefit to the store is that the compactor will not be out of service and the flow of the waste will not be interrupted thus allowing for more efficient operation.
• Larger loads allow for fewer trips to the landfill, making for additional substantial savings.
• By using a stationary compactor, maintenance costs will be lower and reliability will improve since the compactor is not subject to abuse associated with hauling the unit back and forth to the landfill.
• The receiver container will be the responsibility of the hauler, which will reduce Giant Eagle's liability and may result in reduced insurance premiums.
• A final advantage to the hauler is that since the containers are switched, the move can be made at any time rather than during the middle of the night when the store activity is at its lowest operating level."

Giant Eagle has been using the new compactor for three months.

The wet-dry compactor will cost $9,000 when it becomes available, and the hauler will own the receiving containers. Self-contained compactors run around $12,000.

Lampl says he plans to stay with the system and eventually implement it in other Giant Eagle stores. The system is awaiting a patent, and Lackner's attorney says he hopes to have one by next month.

"It's a good system. The drivers love it," said Joseph F. Leonard Jr., the roll-off manager for Waste Management Inc. in North Huntingdon. Leonard has followed the wet-dry system's development closely, and believes it's the wave of the future for trash disposal at grocery stores and other places with a large mix of solid and liquid trash.

Glosser, celebrating its 100 years in business, was founded by Moses Glosser in 1899 and operates steel service centers in Johnstown, Camphill, McKeesport and the compactor division in Donora, Pennsylvania. Combined, the company employs 150 and has revenues of $25 million dollars per year.