Equipment
Recycling Equipment
Recyclers have adapted a number of common industrial processes and machines and invented or altered an number of others to
fill the needs of this relatively new industry. There is a great deal of overlap between the recycling methods used for different
commodities, particularly for the collection and compaction of material prior to shipment to the consuming mills. We have
broken down the different types of machinery by commodity. These are all linked to pages with photos and descriptions of
each piece of equipment.
Aluminum Can Recycling makes use of the following pieces of equipment:
- Densifiers These are hydraulic compaction machines that automatically press cans into medium density briquettes between 20
and 50 Lb. ( 9 to 23 Kgs ) that meet the ISRI 'Taldack" specification.
- Baling Presses are large hydraulic presses that make a light to medium density bale of cans that weighs between 400 and
1400 lb. ( 180 to 635 lb.). and have dimensions of roughly 3 by 4 by 5 feet and are tied with wire.
- Magnetic Separators There are various formats of conveyor belts that remove any magnetics that may be mixed in the cans.
- Eddy Current Separators are used to separate cans from other types of non-metallic materials.
- Shredders are high horsepower grinding mills that tear cans into various sized shreds.
- Screeners are often employed to remove dirt and moisture from loose cans.
- Buying Lines are convoy/separator/scale combinations used for buying aluminum cans from the public.
- Scales are essential for tracking the weight you purchase and ship out.
Steel can recycling may require :
- Tin Press are high density hydraulic presses that make a heavy brick from tin cans.
- Baling Press Make a medium density large bale of tin cans that requires wire to hold it together. this package is acceptable by
most integrated and mini mills.
- Conveyor Belts rubber conveyor belts or steel apron conveyors are normally use to feed processing equipment.
- Magnetic Cranes Are hydraulic cranes with large electro magnets to lift and transport loose and baled tin cans.
- Cross Belt Magnet are permanent magnets mounted under cleated conveyor belting to lift steel and tin cans from streams of
mixed recyclables.
Glass Recycling may use the following machinery:
- Glass crushers Come in a variety of formats but all essentially reduce bottles to small pieces of cullet to ease shipping and
handling.
- Conveyor Belts rubber conveyor belts or steel apron conveyors are normally use to feed processing equipment.
- Screeners are used to size and clean broken glass and whole bottles. There are a number of different formats.
- Magnets are used inline to remove any metals mixed in the glass
- Ceramics Detectors are available in various levels of sophistication, but all essentially remove rocks and ceramics from cullet.
Plastics Recycling may require some of this equipment:
- Granulators are mills with rotating knives that cut bottles into plastic flakes.
- Baling Presses are the desired method of compacting plastic bottle for shipment.
- Conveyor Belts rubber cleated conveyor belts are an excellent method of feeding and moving plastic bottles.
- Washing Equipment usually custom built systems for washing granulated plastic for reuse or repelletizing.
- Repelletizers form plastic flake into small roundish pellets that are used as feedstock for industrial processes.
Scrap Metal Recycling Uses lots of equipment including:
- Metal Shear these are hydraulic scissors that cut non ferrous metals to clean them or size them for resale.
- Baling Press relatively heavy duty hydraulic compression presses used for bundling metal for shipment to smelters.
- Tin Press are high density hydraulic presses that make a heavy brick of metal usually used for lighter gauge steel scrap.
- Magnet Crane hydraulic cranes with a heavy lifting magnet used for moving loose and bundled steel scrap.
- Fork Lifts are essential for almost any recycling operation.