what I do

I work in a paper converting plant that makes specialty spill kits. We make pads, rolls, socks, booms, chemical kits, you name it, we probably make it. I have mentioned, on occasion, the amount of weight I lift each and every day. Usually around 2-3 ton. By hand, and no, not all at once :P
I took a couple of pictures today, to give you an idea of what the raw product starts out as, and what the finished product looks like.
The scrap comes to me in many shapes and sizes. The ones pictured below are 6" end cuts from a 4 foot diameter roll. I send all that through a grinder/shredder and fill the bags you see. The average weight of each bag is 35 pounds. Once I am done bagging the grind, someone else takes those bags and fills the socks (the end product), using a hopper and blower system. The material shown here is called "oil only". Meaning it will float on water and not absorb any of it. It will only absorb oil.