Technologies

The Compacting Machine to Facilitate The Transport of Plastic Waste

24 June 2020 | by Alexandre Dechelotte

State of Progress: Research and Development

Presentation

When it is not possible on site, sorted plastic can be sold and transported for recycling elsewhere. To optimize transport and increase the amount of plastic loaded, it is necessary to form plastic bales using a compacting machine.

Items Description

Metal profiles welded together establishing the compactor’s frame. A hydraulic cylinder is attached to the upper part of the frame. It enables to lower a tray, exerting the compression force necessary to produce a plastic bale.

Process Description

Plastic waste is deposited in the compactor. By actuating the cylinder, the tabletop becomes lower which strongly compacts the plastic, compressed against the walls of the frame. They then take on a square shape, which creates the plastic ball. All that’s left to do then is to tie the bale up and extract it out from the compactor.

Entrance

Transparent PET bottles

Exit

Bales of 50cm PET bottles

Case Study

It is sometimes more interesting to send waste to specialized plants to optimize their recycling and preserve their properties as much as possible. Widely present on industrial sites, the compactor effectively reduces the volume of waste and optimizes its transport to these plants.

Planted in strategic locations, the compactor allows a large amount of waste, such as plastic bags, to be collected in bales. With this concentrated form, waste is less dispersed and is thus easier to recycle.