two men collecting household waste by emptying containers

Shredder for Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) | Residual Waste from WEIMA

Information about industrial waste shredders and treatment of municipal solid waste | communal | residual | household waste

Residual waste from private households or similar places is anything but just waste – in most cases it's a veritable goldmine of recyclable materials. In Germany alone, more than 50 million tons of municipal waste are generated every year. Waste collection services collect more than 13 million tons of household waste, which still contains high proportions of plastics and paper, even though these materials should be disposed of separately. Particularly robust machines are required for the subsequent processing of all material fractions, as municipal waste is usually full of foreign materials such as stones and metals. WEIMA offers the right shredders for this first process step, shredding, with working widths of up to three meters, many heavy duty options and drive concepts specially designed for these applications. The result: safely and cleanly processed, homogeneous material streams.

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Industrial (C&I) and municipal waste (MSW) shredding with a WEIMA S7.30 lift-up shredder in Korea

A WEIMA S7.30 lift-up single-shaft shredder with a hydraulic drive by Hägglunds Bosch Rexroth shreds various kinds of waste for the production of RDF at Daewon Recycling in Gimje, South Korea.

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What types of waste are included in municipal | residual waste?

The composition of municipal or residual waste can vary greatly from region to region. In Germany, for example, almost half of household waste consists of biowaste (39.3 percent), followed by hygiene products (13.5 percent). Plastics and waste paper are at a comparable level (6.7 and 5.2 percent, respectively), as are waste glass, metals and wood (4.6 percent, 2 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively). Despite a halving of German residual waste volumes over the past 35 years, however, only 32 percent of residual waste actually belongs in this garbage can. So the correct separation of recyclables still remains a major problem.

Source: Umweltbundesamt

Mixed waste and household waste before shredding

Mixed waste household waste

pile of shredded household waste

Municipal waste after pre-shredding

Refuse derived fuel is transported on excavator shovel

Substitute fuel production for the cement industry

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How is municipal | residual waste disposed of?

Residual waste garbage cans contain a wide range of recyclable materials and must be recycled by disposal companies in accordance with applicable recycling and waste management laws. For example, many plastics, paper and cardboard can be fed directly into the recycling loop after appropriate sorting. Contaminants/foreign materials are separated. The remaining residual waste stream is finally used for energy recovery in waste incineration plants.

Substitute fuel (RDF) is stored in a silo

RDF silo storage

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MSW waste shredders | WEIMA PreCut 2000 and PowerLine 2500 @Sunchang Energy

A WEIMA PreCut 2000 single-shaft shredder pre-shreds municipal solid waste for the production of refuse-derived fuels (RDF). Secondary shredding happens with a WEIMA PowerLine 2500 single-shaft shredder. Both shredders are equipped with a hydraulic drive by Hägglunds Bosch Rexroth.

Request the right shredder for municipal waste | household waste now Quote request
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Practical tips for reducing private household waste. Reusables first!

Avoid. Separate. Recycle - it's that simple. For example, the German Federal Environmental Office recommends avoiding unnecessary packaging. Use shopping bags instead of plastic bags. And generally use reusable packaging instead of disposable. When buying food, properly estimate the quantities to be consumed. Other tips include limiting paper consumption and using rechargeable batteries.

woman grocery shopping in front of a shelf with food

Grocery shopping without packaging waste

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Did you know?
The Covid-19 pandemic produced an average of 19 kilograms more household waste per capita – from 475 kg to 476 kg annually.

Source: Statistisches Bundesamt

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References and application examples: municipal solid waste (MSW)

WEIMA delivers over 1,000 machines per year. Many of them are used for the recycling of household waste. Find an excerpt of current reference projects here:

EkoPaliwa Chelm, Poland
Empol, Poland
JK Cement, India
Ultratech Cement, India
Wonder Cement, India
Chettinad Cement, India
Econara, Korea
KJ Environment, Korea
Jungwoo, Korea
Solusi Bangun, Indonesia

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Challenges in the shredding of municipal | household waste

Not all household waste is the same. Our municipal waste sometimes contains materials and things that do not belong there – and make processing correspondingly difficult. These include stones, soil, large pieces of metal, sand, ash, or pollutants of various categories. So the better the pre-sorting, the less wear can be expected during the shredding process. Nevertheless, maximum robustness, powerful drives and easy maintenance are and remain the trump cards for industrial shredders in order to avoid unpleasant downtimes. Here, WEIMA can rely on a broad and decades-long wealth of experience.

WEIMA shredder shreds waste for refuse derived fuel (RDF) production

Shredding for RDF production

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How does the mechanical-biological waste treatment (MBT) work?

Waste that cannot be recycled further is generally either used for energy (incinerated) or treated mechanically and biologically. This means that disposal companies collect household waste, MSW or commercial waste similar to household waste and transport it to a central location for waste treatment, disposal or recycling. Typically, household waste contains a high percentage of organic matter. After coarse screening, it is shredded and then divided into different fractions by screening. The coarse fraction (films, paper, hard plastics, wood, etc.) is usually used as fuel in RDF power plants because of its high calorific value. The fine fraction (organic substances), on the other hand, is usually further biologically treated. Gases produced in this way can be used for energy.

WEIMA PowerLine shredder

WEIMA PowerLine shredder

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Good to know.
Member countries of the European Union recycled about half of their municipal waste in 2021.

Source: Euwid

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PowerLine: universal shredder with single-shaft technology for pre- or post-shredding

Performance that pays off. The PowerLine 3000 takes on any form of waste, even contaminated materials. Ideal as a secondary shredder in multi-stage plants: After sorting out materials that are not suitable for RDF, the pre-shredded material can be optimally processed in the secondary shredder. Can be equipped with hydraulic drive, direct drive or power belt drive.

PowerLine series

WEIMA PowerLine 3000 single-shaft shredder

WEIMA PowerLine shredder

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M8.28: Rugged heavy-duty primary shredder with twin-shaft technology

The WEIMA M8.28 shredder with twin-shaft technology is ideal for use as a pre-shredder. It is characterized by high throughput rates with maximum robustness and shreds a wide variety of coarse material streams for further recycling. Typical next process steps are sorting and separation, followed by secondary shredding.

M8.28

Hydraulic drive WEIMA M8.28 pre shredder

M8.28 primary shredder with hydraulic drive

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FineCut: High-throughput secondary shredder for RDF production

Smallest particle sizes, best sales opportunities. The FineCut is the ideal secondary shredder for multi-stage plants. Thanks to high speed, extreme throughputs are realized. The fine particle sizes of the shredded material perfectly meet the increasing demand for ever higher RDF qualities.

FineCut series

WEIMA FineCut 3000 single-shaft shredder on white background

WEIMA FineCut 3000 single-shaft shredder

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This combo is only available at WEIMA

Heavy duty machine designs
for long service life

Easy maintenance
for minimal down times

Various drive options
for maximum throughput

Fast service and support
for highest customer satisfaction

Everything from one source
machines, conveying technology, metal detection, support, spare and wear parts for customized solutions

WEIMA headquarters location Ilsfeld in Germany

WEIMA headquarters Ilsfeld (Germany)

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Convince yourself

The WEIMA showroom is equipped with shredding and compacting machines of all sizes and technologies. This allows us to simulate your application as realistically as possible. You have the possibility to send us your material or to visit us directly in Ilsfeld. From our gallery you have the best view directly into the cutting room. This allows you to observe the shredding process live.

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Alternatively, you can send us material for testing. Click here for the form.

Rendered image of WEIMA PowerLine 3000 single-shaft shredder with X-Ray view of the machine components

WEIMA PowerLine 3000 waste shredder