Giving packaging a new life

Paper recycling:

before recycling paper must be sorted, resolved and pulped in the pulper machine. Impurities and inks are removed. To creat new paper more roar materials are added depending on the desired paper type being created. The paper is then drained and dried. Most products that include a high percentage of recycled paper are newspapers, toilet paper and cardboard for packaging.

Plastics:

Before the 1990's plastic was either incinerate or put into landfill. Now days plastic is sorted and recycled in a dual system.It is important that the plastics are sorted to be fully recycled or in most cases half recycled. Recycled plastic is broken down into high grade re granulate. The plastic is then melted / shaped into a new products.

Tetrapak:

Usually made up of paper, polyethylene and aluminium. Waste is sorted using in fared technology. Materials are tightly bonded together. The materials are separated by being washed in a large drum where they swell, separate and are sorted out again.

Glass:

Glass is electronically sorted into colours. The machine uses a octo-electronic device where light absorption is used to remove impurities as small as 15mm. Glass is now in very small (grain like) pieces where it is then melted down with soda, lime and sand and blown into shape by a machine.

Aluminium:

Sorted by a EDI-current seperator which uses magnetic force acting in the opposite direction which lifts the aluminium off the conveyabelt away from impurities. The aluminium is the sorted into bales. Then melted, casted and rolled. Sheets are produce as they are more energy efficient to produce and can be easily printed on and transported. The sheets are then shaped into cans or sent to a manufacturer. Production waste in returned back into production line.

Sorting innovations:

Dry sorting:

SEV Drum, Magnetic technology, Inferred technology, Edi-current separator, system of contrefuses, re granulates.

Wet sorting:

Paper removed by water and chemicals