Abstract: Apparatus for lifting an open top container, such as a drum, comprises a plurality of clamps each having shaped outer and inner jaws for frictionally gripping therebetween a corresponding sidewall portion of the container. A lifting mechanism closes the clamps and then lifts the container with the container suspended from the clamps. The apparatus is constructed so that the weight of the container increases the clamping pressure as the container is lifted. Other loads having an upright tubular sidewall can also be lifted. In one embodiment, the lifting mechanism employs wedges for closing the clamps, and in another embodiment the lifting mechanism employs linkages for closing the clamps.

Abstract: A system for reducing a paperboard drum to recyclable components including a cutter assembly receiving and rotating the chime end of a drum and severing the sidewall from the chime. A pair of pivot arms subsequently engage the drum header and sidewall and effect a general axial shifting thereof for partial disengagement of the released chime for subsequent manual removal of the chime and header. The resultant drum sidewall is guided, for movement on a helical path, into a chopper assembly which cuts the sidewall into a continuous helical strip which is immediately chopped into short lengths for disposal.