Plastics Recycling Brochure

Second-hand products protect our resourcesIt is extremely short-lived, yet we need itconstantly: plastic packaging. Yoghurt potsand the like carry a green dot and are col-lected from households in Germany forrecycling. But what happens to packagingcontaining residues of hazardous sub-stances such as engine oil? They are re-cycled by Zech Umwelt GmbH using cut-ting-edge plant engineering and recyclingprocesses we ourselves have developed.This service demonstrates that ecologyand economy can be united in reasonableways. Resource consumption and CO2emissions can be reduced by utilising ourrecycling systems. From the used packag-ing, we are also able to produce homoge-neous secondary plastics that will fetch aprice on the market.PLASTICS RECYCLINGSimply efficient: our recycling conceptThe process begins with large bales ofpost-user plastics to which productresidues such as oil are tenaciously stuck.In the first step of the process, the two arecompletely separated. We are able toguarantee almost 100% recycling of wasteflows. Because packaging is sorted duringprocessing into homogeneous product cat-egories, we are able to recycle separatedresidues, such as oil mixtures and otherproducts (some classified as hazardous),either by reprocessing them, or incinerat-ing them as fuel. The bales of “purified”plastic are then subjected to several com-minution and cleaning processes to obtaina valuable pelleted material that can thenbe recycled.Zech Umwelt GmbH · August-Bebel-Allee 1 · 28329 Bremen · Germany · T +49(0)421-41007-0 · F +49(0)421-41007-330contact@zech-umwelt.com · Our partner network in your region can be found under www.zech-umwelt.comconstruktiv, BremenThe process in detail: The bales are completely emptied and resealed. Theplastic waste passes through weighing and visualchecks before being stored in a secure area. After vi-sual inspection and removal of non-plastics, the plas-tic waste is deposited on an enclosed hopper beltconveyor. There they pass through a tunnel metal de-tector which detects metal impurities to ensure thatthe pellets produced are of the right quality. A pre-shredder then produces fragments of plastic. Theseare softened, ground to a pulp and washed in a multi-stage process. The material is then dried mechanically.At the end of the recycling chain, in the BigBag load-ing station, a high-quality pelleted material is availablefor other uses.PRODUCT¦ Grinding stock < 8 mm¦ Residual moisture < 0,5 %¦ Density 0,94 - 0,95¦ MFI 0,5 - 2,5 (190°/ 5 kg)(Melt Flow Index)¦ Colour colourful¦ Packaging Big-BagsRigorous checks to ensure quality:At Zech Umwelt GmbH, quality assurance begins atthe input end. Anything which passes through ourplastics recycling plant is checked at the receivingside: a metal detector protects the plant againstmetal impurities. In the flotation separation sectionof the washing plant, heavier impurities are addi-tionally removed. Samples are also taken at regularintervals from various points in the recycling plant.This means we can proudly claim that only pureplastic can be found in our final product.Zech Umwelt GmbH, Office HamburgOberwerder Damm 1-5 · 20539 Hamburg · GermanyT:+49(0) 40/31977-140 · F:+49(0) 40/31977-150contact@zech-umwelt.com · www.zech-umwelt.comFLOW CHARTFeeding pointPre-shredderingPackagingpurificationPreliminaryWash station 1Wash station 2After-shredderingDryingMetal detector MetalHeavy-weightmaterial, dirt,rest of productsRest ofproducts