In-house Recycling and Post Consumer Plastic Shredders

Plastic is a versatile material. Its properties range from tough polymer structures to highly rigid, high-tech products. Efficient shredding requires a great deal of experience and know-how.

With many thousands of plastic shredders delivered, there are hardly any applications that we have not already encountered. These include classic items such as start-up purge, lumps, crates, pallets, pipes, containers, moulded parts and post-consumer waste such as PET bottles or packaging. It also includes particularly tear-resistant materials such as rubber, fibers and films, aramid, Kevlar or carbon.

WEIMA plastic shredders are up to the task.

About plastic shredding
In-house Recycling and Post Consumer Plastic Shredders In-house Recycling and Post Consumer Plastic Shredders In-house Recycling and Post Consumer Plastic Shredders
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Learn more about plastics and plastic recycling

When waste becomes raw material
01

The Circular Economy starts with us

WEIMA plastic shredders are extremely flexible and offer different rotor types, rotor geometries and cutting tools, whereby they can shred a wide range of thermoplastics such as PE, PP, PVC, PS, PU and PET, as well as various thermosets and elastomers.

Even large-volume hollow bodies, long pipes and profiles, massive start-up lumps and other production waste, as well as PET bottles, textile fibers, foils, insulating materials, floor coverings, crates and containers master industrial WEIMA shredders effortlessly thanks to 40 years of experience in the plastics industry.

02

"With the high volumes of plastic waste in the world, sustainable disposal concepts are particularly needed. And shredding is the basis for this."

Gunter Schippers
Business Development | Plastics at WEIMA

03

PE lumps shredding with a WEIMA S7.20 shredder @Remondis Staffanstorp, Sweden

A WEIMA S7.20 single-shaft shredder shreds large and heavy PE lumps at a recycling plant of Remondis in Staffanstorp, Sweden.

In-house recycling and post industrial plastics processing
as part of the Circular Economy

04

Direct return to the production line

Plastic waste generated during production is becoming increasingly valuable. As a secondary raw material, it can be returned directly to the production cycle. The first step in this process is the shredding of production waste such as start-up lumps or reject parts. WEIMA works closely with customers in order to find a suitable solution for the most diverse plastics. This way we ensure that even materials that are difficult to process are shredded into high-quality regrind.

Example HDPE pipes

05

In-house recycling saves money and protects the environment

With the right technologies, production waste can be reprocessed into new raw material. Thus you save high raw material costs, reduce long delivery times, avoid expensive disposal in external recycling plants and avoid the use of primary resources in the long term.

Example BOPP film

Example plastic lumps

Example IBC containers

Example big bags

Example dewatering presses

06

Shredding of PP flowerpots and post-consumer waste using 4 WEIMA Shredders at Aufderhaar Recycling

Take a behind-the-scenes look at Aufderhaar Kunststof Recycling from the Netherlands and their plastic recycling. Explore their upgraded production lines, featuring 4 powerful WEIMA shredders, that enable them to shred and recycle post-consumer waste and PP flowerpots.

07

Did you know?
Approximately 40% of the end consumer plastic waste is recycled in Germany.

Source: PlasticsEurope Germany

08

Shredding dirty agricultural stretch film (LLDPE) with a WEIMA PreCut 3000 shredder

A WEIMA PreCut 3000 single-shaft shredder with hydraulic drive shreds post-agricultural stretch film (LLDPE) for further recycling processing.

09

Post-Consumer Plastic Recycling

Post-consumer waste means plastic waste from private use. This includes packaging such as yoghurt pots, PET bottles, bags, films, containers, tubes as well as toys, labels, fibers and textiles. Due to the increase in global consumption, the amount of plastic waste is also increasing. Instead of disposing of it in our oceans or landfills, WEIMA shredders contribute to the promotion of alternative solutions. Together with our partners we develop single or multi-stage processing concepts in order to optimize the plastic lifecycle in the long term.

Example post-consumer

Example rigid plastics

Example agricultural film

Example tires and rubber

10

Fishing nets (ghost nets) shredding with a WEIMA WLK 1500 at Yangil Enpla, Korea

At Yangil Enpla in Incheon, Korea, a WEIMA WLK 1500 single-shaft shredder is used to shred fishing nets and other fibers for recycling and the production of regranulate.

11

Recycling or upcycling? It' s in your hand

Both concepts have the same goal: to extend the plastic life cycle. In recycling, plastic waste is usually shredded and transformed into regranulate by extrusion, e.g. to produce new PET bottles from old PET bottles. In upcycling, on the other hand, one tries to give supposedly useless plastics a new, higher-quality sense, either alone or in combination with others, e.g. bags made of packaging strings.

Example fishing nets

12

Shredding plastic purge with a WEIMA S5.18 lift-up @ Plastic Recycling Inc. South Carolina

A WEIMA S5.18 lift-up single-shaft shredder shreds plastic purge at Plastic Recycling Inc. in South Carolina.

13

What is Design for Recycling?

In order to ensure the recyclability of plastic products, disposal or recycling must be considered even before production begins. The term Design for Recycling (D4R), or recycling-friendly design, refers to the holistic conception and design of products that can be optimally returned to the recycling loop after their use. In this context, plastics in products should be combined in such a way that a clear separation of the different types is possible at the end of their life. This is the only way to keep waste streams pure and ensure their recyclability and thus their reuse as secondary raw materials.

100% recyclable stand-up pouch for washing machine detergent
14

For example, a German cleaning product manufacturer fills detergents in environmentally friendly refill bags. These are made of 100 percent polyethylene (PE) and contain neither adhesives nor bonding agents. The printed band can be separated from the packaging, making the bag 100 percent recyclable. Another feature is that the packaging is made entirely from recycled plastic.

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See for yourself

The WEIMA showroom is equipped with shredding and briquetting machines of all sizes and technologies. This enables us to simulate your application as realistically as possible. You have the possibility to send us your material or visit us directly in Fort Mill to observe the shredding process live.

Request an appointment now

Send eMail

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

v-rotor shredder by WEIMA

Shredder in the WEIMA showroom

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HDPE Pipe shredding with a WEIMA PowerLine 2500 @ Remondis Röstånga, Sweden

A WEIMA PowerLine 2500 single-shaft shredder shreds different types of HDPE pipes at a recycling plant of Remondis in Röstånga, Sweden.

Success stories

What our customers think

LDPE film recycling with WEIMA shredder at RKW in Belgium

RKW produces a wide range of polyethylene films (LDPE films). At the Hoogstraten site in Belgium, the company has recently started using a WEIMA W5.18 single-shaft shredder and primarily shreds LDPE film waste from production as well as externally purchased film.

Read more

Plastic Recycling, Inc. Transforms Plastic Purge with WEIMA Shredder

From the southeastern U.S. to the heartland of Indiana, Plastic Recycling, Inc. remains committed to their mission of recycling plastics and transforming them into something new and valuable. With the WEIMA shredder as their trusted partner, they’re writing a story of progress, resilience, and a better world for generations to come.

Read more
an orange WEIMA shredder W5.18 at a plastics recycler in the Netherlands

Shredder quartet for Aufderhaar Kunststof Recycling in the Netherlands

For the processing of post-consumer waste (PE) and flower pots (PP), four large WEIMA shredders are used for secondary shredding at the Veolia Nederland subsidiary Aufderhaar Kunststof Recycling in Vroomshoop. The regranulate produced in this way is then reused for the production of packaging materials.

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doTERRA Utilizes WEIMA Shredder to Reduce Waste and Increase Profit

Utah-based essential oils and wellness company, doTERRA, is utilizing a WEIMA WL 6 single-shaft shredder to shred plastic barrels for further recycling! These sustainability efforts align with the company’s goals and increase profitability.

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Polymers Processors boost Australia’s plastic recycling capacities

With the help of a flagship WEIMA PowerLine single-shaft shredder, Polymer Processors in Melbourne has successfully commissioned stage one of their plant upgrade. This adds thousands of tons of plastic recycling capacity to Australia.

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Plastic Scrap Reimagined at EcoFib

EcoFib is a plastic recycler located in Drummondville, Canada. The company processes a variety of plastic scrap including post-industrial film waste, transforming it into plastic pellets that can be made into new products.

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The future needs experts – plastics recycling in Romania

The Romanian recycling business, Expert Recycling, uses a WKS 1800 single-shaft shredder from WEIMA for processing PET, PP, PS, PE, DHPE, and PELD material streams. With its help, the company produces high-quality regranulates, films, and waste bags.

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An employee dumps post-shredded plastic material into a gaylord for granulating.

More autonomy through clothes hanger recycling: Plásticos Ojara in Colombia

More autonomy thanks to a WEIMA WLK 4 shredder: In the manufacturing of clothes hangers, the Colombian company Plásticos Ojara benefits from the advantages of internal recycling: Reduced purchase of raw materials, lower costs for intralogistics, lower disposal costs, cleaner store floor.

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butler macdonald employees in front of a big weima shredder inside a production hall

Doubling Down on Plastics Recycling

Butler-MacDonald is a plastics recycling specialist which takes great pride in processing hard-to-handle plastic scrap from various sources, including post-industrial and post-consumer waste streams. The company recently commissioned its second WEIMA shredder!

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Pool Covers Without Waste

Closed Loop Production at Plastipack: A WEIMA four-shaft shredder and a granulator recycle inhouse plastic pool cover production scrap in England. Find out why it is surprisingly quiet in Plastipack’s shop.

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Pool Covers Without Waste

Wherever production takes place, residuals inevitably accrue. This is also the case at Plastipack Limited in the United Kingdom. The manufacturer of high-quality pool covers shreds and then recycles its plastic film waste in-house using a two-stage shredder from WEIMA – an excellent example of closed loop production.

Read more

Ghost(net)buster in the Netherlands

Marcel Alberts has declared war on so-called Ghost Nets – left-over, floating fishing nets and ropes that pollute the world’s oceans. Using state-of-the-art technology for plastics recycling, the aim of his Dutch company Healix is to turn this linear waste into a product on site and create a circular economy. At the forefront of the process chain is a WEIMA W5.22 single-shaft shredder.

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a view of the granulator connected to the air system. the product being shredded sits in the foreground.

Innovation Barn takes Charlotte Recycling Initiatives to the Next Level

Nestled in the North Davidson “NoDa” district of Charlotte, North Carolina, is a bright white building surrounded by outdoor social areas and rooftop gardens. From the outside, one might think it to be a hot spot for leisure, and it is. However, within the walls of the Innovation Barn, exciting, environmental, and educational programming takes place.

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Large production space with WEIMA shredders and conveyors

Sustainable Composite Decking with Fiberon

Repurposing plastic waste where it’s created can provide a new income stream for businesses while eliminating the need to ship waste materials across the ocean. Fiberon has embraced this process, proving that being attentive to the environment does not always have to be a financial burden.

Read more

Plastic Boxes, Round 2

The dream team of a WEIMA W5.14 shredder and New Herbold granulator get defective plastic boxes ready for the next job.

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Recycling is for the bin!

This is where the cycle begins. At the Swedish company Veolia Recycling Plastics Sweden AB, waste bins, HDPE pipes and other contaminated hard plastic waste are turned into new raw material with the help of a WEIMA PowerLine 2500 shredder and downstream wash line.

Read more

Kayaks on the recycling wave

In Exeter, UK, Devon Contract Waste recycles a wide variety of hard plastics. This includes not-so-everyday items such as fuel tanks, kayaks and road cones. The central component of the recycling plant is a WEIMA WLK 1500 single-shaft shredder.

Read more

A Second Life for Lifesavers

For over ten years, the owner-managed company Inoplast Kunststoff GmbH has specialized in the recycling of a wide range of…

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Einwellen-Shredder Spider 1500

New for old – the film cycle

For a year now, the company is capable of producing its own PE granulate from film scrap by using the…

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Shredding at sea

The 368 m long and 40 m wide ship has been in operation since 1998. A striking characteristic of the…

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Rohrzerkleinerung Shredder Pipelife

PE-Recycling at its very best

Since the beginning of this year, production waste that accumulates has been shredded and recycled with a powerful 160 kW…

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Shredder und Extruder stellen Granulat her

WEIMA and Gamma Meccanica join forces in Plastics Recycling

One of those manufacturers is Gamma Meccanica. WEIMA and Gamma Meccanica have more than 50 years of combined innovation, experience,…

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Plastics Recycler Increases Capacity with WEIMA Shredder

A WEIMA WL(K) 15 shredder was installed at the front of the recycling line from the beginning. It wasn’t until…

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IBC container shredding in Manchester

Industrial Bulk Containers (IBCs) are used mainly in the chemical, food and pharmaceutics industries. Recon Packaging with over 35 years…

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WLK 30 SJ Shredder bei Graf Plastics

From very big to very small

Graf Plastics GmbH, at its Teningen plant (fig. 1) manufactures its large-volume Carat underground tanks (fig. 2) for rainwater utilization.

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Energy from old carpets

The medium-sized family business in southern England can look back on 35 years of company history. It has always concentrated…

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See more success stories