Ever heard of a Pit Baler?

Never heard of a pit baler? Well you're not alone!

While you won't see them around anymore, pit balers used to be all the rage - just ask Senior Member Services Representative, Bonnie Bethune, who was kind enough to fill us in!

As you know, there are vertical balers...

 and there are horizontal balers for compacting recyclables:

But did you know that once upon a time, the Wilton NH Solid Waste District transfer station had a Pit Baler!

If you look closely at the floor in the picture, you can see the outline where the archaic baler was!

How did it work?

The baler sat on the floor like a vertical baler, but the recyclables were pushed into a 8- to 10-foot-deep hole in the floor.

The baler ram would push UP (like an elevator rising up from a lower level) until the bale was sitting in the baler at floor level.

The bale would be tied off the same as a vertical baler.

It was no fun to clean out the “pit,” (and could be pretty dangerous!) but this baler worked surprisingly well.