Redwave Equips Plastics Sorting Plant

Gleisdorf, Austria-based Redwave has supplied automated sorting equipment to a plastics recycling plant operated by recycling firm Saubermacher Dienstleistungs AG. The plant in Graz, Austria, has undergone €10 million ($11.7 million) in expansion projects in the last several years.

Saubermacher estimate the Graz facility is now the largest plastic sorting plant in Austria. Saubermacher sorts the material on behalf of Vienna-based collection and hauling firm Altstoff Recycling Austria (ARA). Most of the discarded packaging comes from households and businesses.

Aluminum cans and beverage cartons are now being separated at the facility, in addition to 14 different plastic fractions. The automatic plastic sorting plant processes around 32,000 metric tons of discarded packaging per year, mainly from Graz and surrounding areas. A residue fraction of about 40 percent is used as a substitute fuel in the cement industry.

“This investment means we can increase the proportion of material recycling to 40 percent and thus come one step closer to our vision of zero waste,” says Gerhard Ziehenberger, chief operating officer of Saubermacher AG.

Silvia Schweiger-Fuchs, managing director at Redwave, comments, “Zero waste is a very important endeavor to keep our environment worth living in for our children in the future. We will continue to strive to extend our leading technological position in recycling technology.”

At the plant, the Redwave sorting machines, deploying sensor-based sorting using near-infrared (NIR) and color detection technology, separate the plastic packaging by grade. “Banning plastic does not help,” says Hans Roth, chairman of the supervisory board at Saubermacher. “We must continue to improve recycling and accelerate the use of recycled materials in production processes.”

Changes in the contents of a yellow bag collection system made the investment in the sorting system necessary, according to the two companies. A new bag ripper to open the yellow bags works in conjunction with a new film separator to address separation of the film fraction from the 3D container fraction.

A Redwave sorter has been installed at the end of the sorting line to separate the aseptic packaging from aluminum cans. An additional Redwave NIR sorting machine separates PET (polyethylene terephthalate) from other plastics.

A “bottle flattener” is situated near 2D/3D separators. This Redwave device creates flattened and partially emptied PET bottles in an attempt to ensure better sorting results and quality.

The waste management company Lundstams Återvinning AB, Östersund, Sweden, and equipment supplier Mared AB, Huskvarna, Sweden, have agreed on a delivery of ZenRobotics, Helsinki, Finland, waste sorting robots to one of Lundstams’ facilities in northern Sweden. Lundstams says the new sorting line allows it to process material more efficiently and closer to the source. The robotic sorting line is expected to be operational in the first quarter of 2019.

Lundstams, founded in 1949, provides waste management and environmental services to companies and municipalities in northern Sweden. The robotic sorting line is expected to increase overall material recovery and quality of the sorted fractions at the facility. Additionally, the need to transport material decreases when waste can be processed closer to the source, the company says.

“At Lundstams we’re determined to work toward improving material circulation. This is a great opportunity to make better use of materials that were wasted before,” Mattias Marktin, Lundstams CEO, says.

ZenRobotics says its sorting robots are now picking material more smoothly and quickly. Recent improvements in motion control increase the robot’s sorting speed by 15 percent thanks to more efficient robotic movements.

The new robotic sorting line is expected to automate and advance the company’s sorting operations in Östersund. According to Lundstams, the local municipality that granted project financing is happy with its investment in robotic waste sorting. The company says the municipality considered it a "climate-smart" investment and an exemplary case of combining environmental benefits with new business opportunities.

“By improving our resource recovery, we can offer high-quality products and services to our customers. Furthermore, we want to help our customers in becoming the best recyclers, and with the most advanced technologies we can do just that,” Marktin says.

ZenRobotics’ Swedish partner, Mared AB, will deliver the new robotic sorting line, which will be the second robot line in Sweden.

“Sweden has one of the highest waste recovery rates in the world, but there is still a lot left to be done,” Mats Mared, Mared AB CEO, says. “Lundstams is one of the progressive recycling companies in Sweden, and we’re proud and honored to have been chosen as their supplier. We look forward to realizing this high-end project together with them.”