Before you specify
Frequently Asked Questions
Does it crush aluminium cans as well as PET bottles?
Yes. HSM specifies the 1049 SA for PET bottles and cans, and the crusher rollers are specially hardened and ground steel for exactly that mixed duty. The published throughput of 2,400 units an hour is quoted for one-litre PET bottles; cans are smaller and lighter, so in practice you will feed them faster than that. Do not put glass, aerosols or pressurised containers through it.
How much volume will it actually save?
HSM states that bottles and cans are reduced to roughly a third or a quarter of their original volume. In storage terms that turns four containers of loose bottles into one, which is where the cost saving comes from — fewer collections, less floor space tied up, and less handling. The exact figure depends on the bottle: thin-walled single-serve bottles crush better than rigid multi-litre containers.
What size bin does it use and how heavy is it to empty?
A 290 litre container that rolls out of the machine rather than lifting out. Crushed PET is bulky rather than dense, so a full container is awkward more than it is heavy, but 290 litres of crushed cans is a different matter and the roll-out design is there for a reason. How often you empty it depends entirely on your throughput; at the full 2,400 bottles an hour you would be changing it frequently.
Does it need to be switched off between uses?
No, and that is a deliberate design point. The machine switches itself off automatically after two minutes without material, so it can be left live at a collection point all day and still not run continuously. Combined with the LED status display, it is designed to sit unattended in a back-of-house area rather than being operated as a scheduled task.
What power supply does it need?
HSM lists the EU article for this machine in both 400 V / 50 Hz and 230 V / 50 Hz configurations. North American supplies run at 60 Hz and different voltages, so treat those as an indication of the options rather than your site specification and confirm the exact configuration with us before ordering. HSM does not publish a motor kilowatt rating for this model in its public data, so we have not quoted one.
Should I buy this or the CP 4988?
Buy the 1049 SA if you need to reduce volume for storage and collection. Buy the CP 4988 if you need baled, strapped output — it crushes and bales in one machine at 4,000 bottles an hour and produces bales of up to 100 kg using continuous polyester strap. The deciding question is what happens to the material next: if it leaves in a bin, crush it; if it leaves as a commodity your recycler pays for, bale it.