Recycling : Shredding and dewatering - Strong WEIMA duo for post-consumer plastic recycling at Stiphout Plastics
WEIMA S7.20 single-shaft shredder at Stiphout Plastics in the Netherlands
- © WEIMAUp to 20,000 tonnes of post-consumer plastics are recycled every year
Eline Stiphout founded the company in 2015 with the aim of recycling post-consumer waste into high-quality flakes, which can then be processed into new products. Since then, Stiphout Plastics has grown steadily and is now a specialist in the post-consumer plastic recycling of Dutch household waste made from polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (HDPE). Every year, 18,000 to 20,000 tonnes of post-consumer waste are recycled here, which is roughly equivalent to the waste from 500,000 Dutch households.
Increased productivity by using the WEIMA S7.20 shredder
To recycle these large quantities of post-consumer plastic waste, Stiphout Plastics uses a WEIMA S7.20 lift-up single-shaft shredder from Germany. With a rotor length of 2,000 mm and a 160 kW hydraulic drive from HÄGGLUNDS Bosch Rexroth, Stiphout Plastics was able to double its own output. "With the WEIMA shredder, we were able to increase our capacity from 10,000 tonnes to 18,000-20,000 tonnes per year," reports founder Eline Stiphout.
The problem: High disposal costs of the production waste
When post-consumer plastic waste is recycled, it is washed several times. This produces plastic fine parts that cannot be further recycled and must be disposed of. These fines contain up to 80% water, which significantly increases disposal costs.
"The cost of waste disposal in the Netherlands is very high. For this reason, we needed a solution to reduce these disposal costs."
The solution: A drainage press from WEIMA
With the WEIMA C.200 Duo drainage press, Stiphout Plastics can significantly reduce the amount of water in the plastic fine parts. The machine dewaters and presses the moist plastic fine parts, reducing both the weight and the volume of the waste. Before dewatering, the water percentage was 70-80% - after dewatering, it sits at 15-30%.
"With the help of the WEIMA press, we can reduce the cost of the material that is processed with the shredder. This combination of high processing capacity and at the same time minimising waste costs is an extremely effective solution for us." Eline Stiphout on the interaction between WEIMA's shredder and drainage press.
