Bobcat System Takes on Trash

Loader and excavator play important role at Mississippi recycling facility

An unstoppable tandem: This Bobcat 331 and S300 have combined for nearly 7,600 hours without a breakdown.

The Bobcat System has found a home in the recycling business. This highly productive equipment combination � typically a loader and an excavator � has been popular on construction, landscaping and other jobsites for more than two decades.

At the Delta Sanitation recycling facility, located near Ocean Springs, Miss., a Bobcat� S300 skid-steer loader and a 331 compact excavator sort and move tons of materials around the floor each day.

"These machines really do a good job," says Jimmy Schermerhorn, landfill manager. "Anytime you are banging around in trash, I would call it a severe application because you are doing a lot more with your equipment than most people do. So far, the machines have held up very well."

The loader has been on the job for 2,500 hours and the excavator for 5,100 hours. Both units, purchased from Beard Equipment, Biloxi, Miss., are efficient and help make the working environment safe.

Sort and pick material

The hydraulic clamp and three-tine grapple attachment on the excavator are used to sort and pick out the recyclable material and put it into categories (steel, copper, aluminum, etc.). The loader, equipped with a grapple bucket, takes the material to the proper hopper for delivery to the processing station. These Bobcat attachments are durable and perfect for handling odd-shaped materials.

"These attachments are hitting concrete for six to eight hours a day," Schermerhorn says. "Considering the constant pounding, they are very durable and do a great job of picking up and moving many different sizes and shapes of trash."

The Delta Sanitation Ocean Springs location receives trash from commercial haulers. Most of the 50 to 75 tons per month is demolition-type waste.

The Bobcat excavator, long known as a hard-working excavating machine, demonstrates industry-leading versatility in this application. Instead of employees digging through mountains of trash to sort out recyclable items, the excavator is able to do the work more efficiently and more safely.

The vertical-lift-path design of the loader makes it ideal for lifting, carrying and loading. At times it is also used on the landfill side of the business.

"We will replace the loader and excavator when the cost of repairs reach the point where it is more economical to purchase new machines than to repair the current models," Schermerhorn says. "They are reliable and productive machines."

Read more about Bobcat products for industrial applications on the solid waste management page.

"These attachments are hitting concrete for six to eight hours a day," Schermerhorn says. "Considering the constant pounding, they are very durable and do a great job of picking up and moving many different sizes and shapes of trash."

� Jimmy Schermerhorn

Bobcat Company reserves the right to make changes in engineering, design, and specifications; add improvements; or discontinue manufacturing at any time without notice or obligation.

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