From Plastic Waste to End Product – Kesrec Relies on a Closed Recycling Loop with WEIMA
In Leppälänkylä, Finland, Kesrec Recycling demonstrates how modern plastic recycling works today: efficient, economical, and fully in-house. Instead of merely processing plastic waste and reselling it, the company takes it a step further by directly manufacturing new end products from it.
A key component of this process: WEIMA’s shredding technology.
Kesrec´s roots date back to 2008. What began as a family business in waste collection quickly evolved with the company’s entry into plastic recycling starting
in 2014. Today, Kesrec is an established player in the Finnish recycling industry with around 30 employees and an annual turnover of over 10 million euros. The clear focus is not only on recycling plastic waste but on reintroducing it into the cycle as high-quality raw materials and products.
Shredding and recycling of post-industrial plastic waste | WEIMA W5.18 shredder | High-torque drive
At Kesrec Recycling in Leppälänkylä, Finland, post-industrial plastic waste is transformed into valuable new products. Using the powerful WEIMA W5.18 shredder with its high-torque drive, plastic waste is efficiently reduced in size on-site. The shredded material is transformed into high-quality regranulate using an extruder and then directly processed into irrigation tubes and dimple sheets, enabling a fully closed-loop recycling system.
The Challenge: Bulky and Durable Plastic Waste
Kesrec processes post-industrial plastic waste of various types. These materials are often large in volume, thick-walled, or particularly resistant making them unsuitable for direct processing in the extrusion process. For stable and efficient production, reliable pre-shredding is therefore essential. Only in this way can homogeneous material streams be created that can subsequently be easily granulated and extruded.
The Solution: WEIMA W5.18 for High-Performance Shredding
For shredding, Kesrec relies on a WEIMA W5.18 single-shaft shredder, specifically designed for demanding plastic applications. With a drive power of 112 kW and a rotor length of 1,800 mm, the machine provides sufficient power and throughput to reliably process even large and resistant plastic parts. The installed 50 mm screen ensures a defined particle size, optimally prepared for the subsequent process steps. In addition to pure performance, the machine particularly impresses in daily operation: its robust design ensures high availability, while the well-thought-out construction with a maintenance flap allows quick and easy access to the interior. This reduces downtime and ensures smooth production processes. At the same time, the high torque enables continuous material feeding, even with heterogeneous and challenging input materials.
Seamless Integration into the Recycling Process
The WEIMA shredder is firmly integrated into a continuous process chain at Kesrec. After shredding, the material is washed to remove impurities and then granulated. Only then does further processing in the extruder take place.
This clearly structured sequence creates a consistent and controlled material flow. Shredding forms the foundation for all subsequent steps: it ensures that the material is brought into a processable form in the first place. This approach ensures that washing, granulation, and extrusion be operated stably and efficiently, ensuring consistently high quality of the regranulate.
From Regranulate to Finished Product – A Closed Loop
Kesrec deliberately goes one step further than traditional recycling companies. Instead of simply selling the produced regranulate as raw material, it is directly processed further in-house. This results in marketable products such as dimple sheets for construction or drip irrigation pipes for agricultural applications.
By combining high-performance shredding, efficient processing, and in-house production, a fully integrated recycling loop is created. Plastic waste is processed on site, converted into regranulate, and immediately transformed into new products. This approach creates added value and makes the recycling process tangible turning supposed waste directly into new products with real benefits.