Refuse container

An improved refuse compactor of the type comprising a compactor body having walls defining a compaction chamber into which waste material is deposited and compacted by a packer or pusher blade assembly arranged to be guided for longitudinal back and forth movement along the length of the chamber for firstly compacting the waste material deposited in the chamber and subsequently ejecting the compacted waste material from a discharge opening at the rear of the chamber characterised by a carriage located rearwardly of said pusher blade and guided for longitudinal back and forth movement between a retracted position near the front of the compaction chamber and an extended position intermediate the front and rear ends of said compaction chamber, a first pair of fluid cylinders operatively interconnected between said carriage and said pusher blade and arranged, upon actuation thereof, to urge the pusher blade away from said carriage to permit the pusher blade to compact waste material within the chamber, and a second pair of fluid cylinders operatively interconnected between the compaction chamber at or near the front thereof and said carriage for effecting movement of said carriage between its said retracted position and its said extended position during which said movement the pusher blade and the carriage move together, wherein each said fluid cylinder has its cylinder end and its piston rod end pivotally mounted for pivotal movement about a vertical axis and wherein each said pair of fluid cylinders has its cylinders disposed in a scissors arrangement with one cylinder from each said pair of cylinders lying in a first horizontal plane above the plane of the carriage, and the other cylinder of the said pair of cylinders lying in a second horizontal plane below the plane of the carriage, the arrangement being such that compacted waste material within the compaction chamber can be ejected therefrom by actuating said first pair of fluid cylinders to urge said pusher blade away from the carriage to an approximate midway position along the compaction chamber, and by actuating said second pair of fluid cylinders to urge said carriage to its said intermediate position and simultaneously urge the pusher blade to a position adjacent the discharge opening of said compaction chamber.