Seldom does the average person know what we are talking about when we say “tub grinding”.
What is tub grinding? Let’s start by stating what it’s “not” … tub grinding is not a way to recycle the materials that bathtubs are made from. Tub Grinding refers to the shape of the opening of a large grinder. Typically the main use for this type equipment is to reduce the size of a debris pile. Here at American Property Experts, we use our tub grinders to grind trees, wood waste, and vegetative debris into mulch.
Recycling and Tub Grinding:
The problem with “trash” is once it leaves your immediate viewing area, it’s not really thought of again.“Out of sight, out of mind” is an absolute in the world of disposables. It doesn’t even matter if what is being “thrown away” is recyclable or not. Once glass, plastic, wood or paper waste is removed, the majority of people do not think about where it ends up.
The bad news:
A lot of waste of all types still ends up in landfills and worse, in streams, rivers and in our oceans.
The good news:
More and more, many industries recognize the problems that massive amounts of waste creates. Recycled goods of all types are becoming commonplace. Even better, as more people are educated about the great need to repurpose plastics, wood, and paper they are twice as likely to ask for products made from recycled materials.
This is a large part of the reason we have three tub grinders in operation at APE. Repurposing vegetative debris and fallen trees and branches into a safe, useful and beautiful colored mulches to enhance landscaping and retain moisture is one of our main functions. Tub grinding is the most efficient way of reducing large piles of vegetative debris or wood waste.
Making Room with Tub Grinding:
“We are often contracted by landfills that accept wood debris. It’s not uncommon to see towering mounds of vegetative waste this type; landfills need as much air space as possible. We come in with a loader and a tub grinder and give them back valuable real estate, quickly and at an affordable rate,” says Jason Thompson, President of American Property Experts.
“Most people have seen a “wood chipper” or a small-scale grinder in their neighborhoods after a storm. Those are about the size of a small picnic table and are designed to be carefully hand-fed. Our tub grinders are sort of the Incredible Hulk (without the rage) version of these machines. The tub is a large opening on the top or the side of the grinder that allows us to use heavy equipment to efficiently move debris into it. These are big machines, around 50 feet in length; we pull them to job sites with a big truck and send support equipment to ensure jobs are done swiftly and seamlessly,” These machines can process almost 100 tons of debris per hour. Thompson adds.
Cleaning up with Tub Grinding:
Tub Grinding is also sometimes called for when land is being cleared for development. Some contractors opt to have the vegetative debris from site work ground on site. This is a much better way to reduce the debris vs. open burning. Open burning is quickly becoming less popular as it pollutes the air and surrounding land areas. Often times, the rough mulch created is repurposed on the site. This mulch is often used to landscape common areas, walking trails or privacy berms. This end product is rough ground and uncolored.
We use our tub grinders on site to refine our end product. While do offer a rough cut uncolored mulch, we also double and triple grind some product depending on the application needed. So, what is tub grinding? Hopefully, you can now answer that question thoroughly!
In addition to tub grinding on our site or your’s, American Property Experts offers complete Land Clearing, Soil Screening, and Hauling. For Landscapers, we carry lines of colored mulches, Cyprus Mulch, Top Soil, and Soil Amendment. APE has a strong commitment to reuse, recycling and repurposing. Our mulches are comprised of vegetative debris and are recycled products. Everything that crosses the gates of both our Sunnyvale and N. Kerr vegetative debris intake sites is repurposed. Top Soil is screened and offered back to landscapers, fallen branches and felled trees are ground in our tub grinders to various states and then colored with pet and kid safe dyes.
For questions about Tub Grinding or American Property Experts numerous products and services, please call the number you see below. We look forward to helping you in the near future!