Abstract:
The waste shipping method using railroad flatcars includes producing or receiving a plurality of plastic wrapped bales of waste for transport. The wrapped bales of waste are loaded onto railway flatcars, preferably center beam flatcars, and secured thereto by ties or cables. The bales may be loaded horizontally or stacked vertically on the flatbed. A right angle corner protector, which may be made from high-density polyethylene or heavy-duty cardboard, prevents the securing cables from tearing the plastic wrap along the outside edges of the bales. The cables may be secured to the center beam and extend through holes formed in the corner protectors, and then secured to the bed or the side of the flatcar. Recyclable waste may be packaged and transported to recycling centers in this manner.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to waste management, and particularly to a waste shipping method using railroad flatcars for wrapped bundles of waste in order to maximize carrying load and economy thereof. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0004]    Modern daily life produces tons of wastes that must be disposed of in some manner, depending on the nature of the waste and the regulations associated therewith. For environmental reasons, conscientious consumers and waste disposal organizations employ recycling programs to maximize materials use from recyclables and lessen the environmental impact of such wastes. Harmful or hazardous wastes require specialized handling and processes that are financed or subsidized by the institution generating the waste and/or with the cooperation of the local municipality or national agency. A significant portion of municipal wastes are also prepared with plastic wrappings for easier transport and disposal. 
         [0005]    Regardless of the type of waste being processed, all waste needs to be handled and transported in some manner. These transport solutions range from road vehicles and railcars to barges. Any commercial entity involved with the transport and processing of waste must consider maximizing profit margins in order to maintain financial health. This involves minimizing expenditures. In the case of transporting wastes via railcars, the conventional solution utilizes containers on flatcars or bulk railcars. Such railcars can carry tons of material, but a significant portion of the carry or transport capacity is reduced by the weight of the container walls on the railcar. For example, if the railcar has a carry/transport capacity of 100 tons, 5-15 tons of the capacity can be attributed to the weight of the container. In terms of mass transport, that is a large amount of capacity not being utilized for transporting the waste material, particularly considering the number of railcars being employed. The unused tare weight of the containers negatively impacts the cost-to-value ratio for the endeavor. 
         [0006]    In addition to the above, a large number of railcars are underutilized, due mainly to economic reasons and excess inventory of certain railcars. For example, center partition railcars are designed primarily to transport lumber. Due to the current economic decline, and especially the decline in the rate of new houses in the real estate market, not many of these railcars are being deployed. However, there does not appear to be viable alternative options, resulting in many of these railcars languishing in holding stations or storage. 
         [0007]    Thus, a waste shipping method using railroad flatcars solving the aforementioned problems is desired. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    The waste shipping method using railroad flatcars includes producing or receiving a plurality of plastic-wrapped bales of waste for disposal processing. The wrapped waste bales are loaded onto flat railcars in a stacked arrangement. The railcar is preferably an underutilized one, such as a center partition railcar. Compared to boxcar, gondola, or intermodal style railcars, the center partition railway flatcar increases the effective transport carry capacity or payload, since it does not include extraneous weight from additional steel walls and metal containers. The weight savings maximize cost/value ratio associated with transporting wrapped waste bales, since the effectively increased weight capacity directly translates to increased weight of waste bales carried by the railcar, resulting in significant savings. 
         [0009]    These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0010]      FIG. 1  is an environmental, perspective view of a loaded railway flatcar practicing a waste shipping method according to the present invention. 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is a top view of the loaded railway flatcar of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  is a side view of the loaded railway flatcar of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of plastic-wrapped bales of waste and the handling thereof. 
           [0014]      FIG. 5A  is an end view in section of bales of waste stacked vertically on a railway flatcar, showing the manner of securing the load in a waste shipping method using railroad flatcars according to the present invention. 
           [0015]      FIG. 5B  is an end view in section of bales of waste stacked horizontally on a railway flatcar, showing the manner of securing the load in a waste shipping method using the railroad flatcars according to the present invention. 
           [0016]      FIG. 6  is a block diagram of the steps in a waste shipping method using railroad flatcars according to the present invention. 
       
    
    
       [0017]    Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0018]    The waste shipping method using railroad flatcars provides a means for maximizing carrying capacity to thereby minimize expenses associated with transporting municipal solid waste, including recyclables. As best shown in  FIG. 4 , the waste shipping method includes preparing a plurality of bales  10  of waste wrapped in plastic. This reduces waste into a convenient form for transport. Additionally, the wrapping of the bales  10  provides a degree of protection from the elements during transport and handling. It is noted that the plastic adds negligible weight to each individual bale  10 , compared to the overall weight of the waste. Each wrapped waste bale  10  is preferably a square, block shape, which is an easy shape to form and wrap. However, waste material may be packaged in other shapes, such as cylinders, rectangles, etc., so long as they are viable for transport and disposal. A typical example of waste is municipal solid waste, including recyclable waste, but it is to be understood that other types of waste that can be easily wrapped can also be transported by the present method, including baled and wrapped refuse derived fuels (RDF). 
         [0019]    The wrapped waste bales  10  are then stacked onto a railway flatcar  20 . As shown in  FIGS. 1-3 , the railway flatcar  20  is a center-partition flatcar having front and back walls or bulkheads  22 ,  24 , a central beam  26  extending longitudinally between the front wall  22  and the back wall  24 , and a flatbed  28 . The central beam  26  provides structural support for the walls  22 ,  24 . A plurality of vertical supports  27  are disposed at regular intervals between the central beam  26  and the flatbed  28  to form a vertical, partition wall bisecting the railway flatcar  20  in the longitudinal direction. The spacing between each pair of vertical supports  27  can be provided with a truss-like structure to strengthen the vertical wall without significant increase in the weight of the railway flatcar  20 . Other features, such as the wheels and the front and rear connector assemblies, have not been designated with reference numbers, since these are well known features of railcars in general. 
         [0020]    The waste bales  10  are stacked on either side of the central beam  26  into a plurality of rows and columns. In most instances, the bales  10  will be stacked directly on top of each other. However, the manner in which the bales  10  are stacked can be changed, depending on the desired weight distribution and/or the number of bundles to be carried by the flat railcar  20 , e.g., staggered, stepped, etc. The section views shown in  FIGS. 5A and 5B  show examples of horizontal and vertically stacked configurations. It is to be understood that the number of stacked rows depends on various factors, such as the dimensions of the bales  10 , the dimensions of the railway flatcar  20 , and/or the carry capacity of the railway flatcar  20 . Thus, more than a single or double row of bales  10  can be carried by the railway flatcar  20  when optimized by the current method. 
         [0021]    Rail transport of any load, especially the bales  10  of waste, requires securing the bales  10  in a manner that insures against accidental dislodging thereof during transport for public safety, as well as the safety of the rail system. Each column of bales  10  is secured to the flatbed  28  by ties  30  spanning a width section of stacked bales  10  between each lateral side of the flatbed  28 . The ties  30  can be cables, straps, rope, and the like threaded through the vertical supports  27 , over the central beam  26 , or through the spacing between each pair of vertical supports  27 . Each tie  30  can be tightened and secured to at least one side of the railway flatcar  20  by hardware (not shown). Some flatbed or center partition railway flatcars may not include the front and back walls  22 ,  24 . In those situations, the ties  30  must also be secured in the longitudinal direction. 
         [0022]    While the above may be sufficient to hold the wrapped bales  10 , the type of forces experienced by the bales  10  during transport, as well as the tension from the ties  30  acting against the bales  10 , can tear through the plastic wrapping. In order to prevent such mishaps, at least the top outer corner of the top row of wrapped waste bales  10  is provided with a corner protector  40 . Each corner protector  40  includes a pair of sidewalls  42  disposed orthogonally, forming an angled bracket. The right-angled disposition of the corner protector  40  is most suited to conform to the shape of the block-shaped bale  10 . However, other angles or curved sections can be used depending on the shape of the wrapped bale  10 . Each sidewall  42  is preferably triangular in shape, which minimizes weight and materials. Alternative shapes can also be used to construct the sidewalls  42 . 
         [0023]    The sidewalls  42  meet at a reinforced juncture  44  that can be constructed as a robust, longitudinal bead. The reinforced juncture  44  can include a bore through which the associated tie  30  can be threaded during the securing process. Alternatively, the tie  30  can be placed over the reinforced juncture  44  when strapping the bales  10  onto the flatbed  28 . Either configuration protects that portion of the bale  10  by preventing direct contact with the ties  30 . In order to insure that the corner protector  40  stays in place, at least one of the sidewalls  42  can be provided with at least one tack  46  at a distal end thereof that can puncture the wrap and extend into the bale  10  to help secure the load. Alternatively, the tack  46  can be removed, especially if the tension from the ties  30  will be sufficient to insure that the corner protector  40  will remain in place during transport. The corner protector  40  is preferably made from high-density polyethylene, but can also be made of treated heavy-duty cardboard. 
         [0024]    Referring to the block diagram shown in  FIG. 6 , the following describes the waste shipping method using railroad flatcars. Initially, a plurality of wrapped waste bales  10  is produced by forming a given supply of wastes into a desired shape, or is received from a waste management facility. As mentioned, the preferred shape is a square or rectangular parallelepiped block. Each bale  10  is then wrapped in plastic to maintain the form conducive for handling and transport, as exemplified by step  100 . The wrapped waste bales  10  are temporarily stored in a holding area or warehouse in preparation for transport, as shown by step  102 . 
         [0025]    In step  104 , the wrapped waste bales  10  are loaded onto railway flatcars  20 . In some instances, the bales  10  can also be loaded onto flatbed trucks, or even barges, but the current method relates to railcar transport. 
         [0026]    As referenced by step  106 , once the wrapped bales  10  have been stacked onto the railway flatcar  20 , the stacked bales  10  are secured to the railway flatcar  20  by the ties  30  and the corner protectors  40 , the corner protectors  40  being pinned onto a respective wrapped waste bale  10  for those that include the at least one tack  46 . As a further alternative, commercially available corner protectors can also be used in place of the corner protectors  40 , so long as they provide sufficient protection. These can include cardboard, steel, plastic or wood constructed as elongate, rectangular L-shaped brackets. After the wrapped waste bales  10  are secured, they are transported to the waste processing site as shown in step  108 . 
         [0027]    It is noted that the waste shipping method using railroad flatcars encompasses a variety of alternatives. For example, though the above description specifically utilizes center partition railcars  20 , the method can be practiced using other non-container-type railcars, such as a flatbed railcar. Such railcars do not include a center partition, which further increases the effective weight carrying capacity. The flatbed railcar may cost more due to their higher demand and use, but any mitigation in cost savings can still be insignificant, compared to the overall cost savings from conventional methods. Moreover, the corner protectors  40  can be constructed from various materials, such as wood, cardboard, plastic, metal, composites and combinations thereof, so long as they can withstand the rigors of use. 
         [0028]    It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.