When Repurpose It needed a reliable and versatile trailer to handle its waste, it turned to Thinwall Trailer’s Garbage Galosh Walking Floor trailer.
Repurpose It believes that all waste can be converted into valuable resources. Its vision is to help build a world that no longer needs landfills, by using the most advanced waste processing technology available.
Based in Melbourne, the company works to identify products at the end of their life cycle, which are then transformed into new materials for reuse. This occurs across multiple waste streams, including industrial, construction and demolition, solid inert, drilling and drainage and organics and other municipal waste. The company processes incoming waste by separating waste types, shredding bulkier items for easier recycling and washing materials in its construction and demolition washing plant, slated for completion in November.
Repurpose It regularly carts construction and demolition and green waste, as well as landscaping materials and scrap metal throughout Victoria and interstate, which means it needs to use heavy vehicle equipment customised to specification.
The company also operates multiple transfer stations, including one of Australia’s largest, and has a dedicated fleet of walking floor semi-trailers to provide waste transportation and collection services to suit a variety of needs from the construction industry, recyclers and local government.
Part of this fleet is Thinwall Trailers’ Garbage Galosh Walking Floor trailer, designed to handle a variety of materials while maximising payloads. Thinwall Trailers Australia is the exclusive agent for this particular trailer design, which has developed a close relationship with the Canadian company, Titan Trailers. The company aims to offer a durable product that can handle some of the most challenging cargo, including sand, dirt and glass, green, hard and wet waste.
Anthony Van Schaik, a Director at Repurpose It, says that Repurpose It looked at a range of trailers on the market, including overseas, and found the Garbage Galosh to be the best.
“We trialled the Garbage Galosh first and it stood up to the test when compared to other trailers,” Anthony says.
“The trailers are able to handle a large variety of waste products, from heavy construction and demolition, to the lighter organics. Because we cater to a range of waste streams, we needed to make sure our fleet was versatile.”
Repurpose It’s fleet needed to also cater to rugged environments while maximising payloads. The Garbage Galosh trailer’s enhanced efficiency, such as its faster loading and unloading, lets the trailer take more loads in a day.
“Everything we process should be of a high quality similar to virgin materials and it’s important to maintain that level in the harsh environment of waste,” Anthony says.
According to Thinwall Trailers, walking floors unload two to three times faster than other walking floors, and the Walking Floor Garbage Galosh trailer can save vehicle operators up to 10-15 minutes per trip.
Anthony says the process of loading and unloading a trailer can be tedious and time-consuming if the vehicle operator has to manually clean the trailer out. The moving floors shift bulkier materials from the front to the rear, via mechanical slats, to automate the process.
Thinwall Trailers distributes a range of moving floor-specified trailing equipment for fleets throughout the country. The Titan 14.63-metre three-axle Thinwall walking floor trailer is suitable for waste and recyclable payloads. As safety in the waste industry is paramount, the trailer comes equipped with WABCO electronic braking systems (EBS) – allowing for faster braking response times and reduced braking distance by several metres.
It also features the Keith Walking Floor V-Floor system which helps to reduce alignment, breaking or stretching issues with long-lasting aluminium floor stats. JOST landing gear ensures strength, lightness and safety. The combination of this and Thinwall’s patented aluminium body works to provide less downtime and a longer product life. Anthony says the trailers have proved effective with minimal maintenance issues.
The walking floor system also allows cargo to be safely and efficiently unloaded without having to tip the trailer. “Because they’re able to unload almost anywhere, it makes them flexible for more sites. From a safety perspective, it’s also a no-brainer, as a lot of the time we are unloading on uneven ground,” Anthony says.