The Recycling Process

Downsizing

The first step in the recycling process is to downsize the raw material. Several different processes can be used depending on the material's form, such as guillotining rolls or heat-knifing cones. But generally speaking, most material enters the production line when it is run through a shredder. The shredder blades rip and tear the material, turning large or long pieces into smaller, more manageable ones.

The Guillotine

Densification

Next, the material goes into the densifier. This machine consists of a large steel drum with a rotating blade in the bottom. The blade serves to further downsize the material, and as the material is chopped up the process begins building heat. When the material reaches a semi-molten state it is shocked with water to harden it again. Once re-hardened by the water shock, the material is shattered by the blade and then dried. The result is in the form of small, dense nuggets.

Densified Material

Extrusion

Once the material has been densified, it is ready for extrusion. The extruder consists of a long heated barrel containing a driven screw. When the densified material is fed into the extruder, the screw forces the material into the heated sections of the barrel, completely melting the material and pushing it forward. The molten material is then forced through a die plate and pelletized. The pellets are cooled with water and then dried.

Strand Line Extruder

Storage

Finally, the pellets are loaded into boxes for immediate delivery or into our silos where they will await our tankers to pick them up at a later date.

Boxed Pellets