Lightening the Load for Refuse Collectors

An increasing number of waste management companies are using weighing and recording technology to ensure accurate charging for landfill tax.

Maywood On Board’s electronic weighing unit, ‘Loadwatcher’, fits into the driver’s cab in the refuse collection vehicle (RCV) and produces a reading after each collection, displaying load weight, date and time information.

This data can then be downloaded and a hard copy can be used as a record of collection and proof of underloading. Once the RCV enters the landfill site, the record of the total weight of waste to be unloaded can be used to calculate the exact amount of tax payable.

Maywood On Board selected a mini-printer from Able Systems to fit neatly inside the vehicle cab and interface to the ‘Loadwatcher’ unit.

Maywood wanted to use a printer that would be more convenient and less time consuming for vehicle operators to use.

• The Able Systems printer incorporates a thermal print mechanism, using heat rather than ink, eliminating the messy and time-consuming procedure of changing ink ribbons.

• Its fast print speed of four lines per second across 24 columns causes no hindrance to refuse collection rounds.

• Its reliability of one million lines MCBF (Mean Cycle Before Failure) reduces downtime and maintenance costs.

• The paper roll is easily accessed by opening the top cover of the printer and has a ‘paper low’ indicator.

• A simple push button operation on both the weighing system and the printer ensures that ‘Loadwatcher’ causes minimum interruption to the refuse collection process.

Able System’s robust printer has provided Maywood On Board with a small but perfectly formed solution to all its challenges