Sorting and separating for recycling
Sorted collected PMD waste is taken to our fully-automated recycling plant to separate recyclable materials in various fractions.
Drinks cartons and synthetic material are detected, identified and sorted by optic machines. The metals are then extracted in turn using magnets and eddy current separators. The sorted fractions are compacted into bales and taken to recycling firms which transform them into new primary materials and new products.
What do we recycle from one tonne of PMD?
Do you want to know what happens after one tonne of PMD passes through our recycling plant? Read the following and discover what materials we extract from your PMD.
Metals
Metals can be re-used straight away by the metal industry.
Green PET
Green PET (polyethylene terephthalate) is washed and then crushed into husks or synthetic beads, ready to be turned into new products such as new bottles, plastic punnets for fruit and vegetables, textile fibres, mats and stuffing for mattresses, jackets and sleeping bags.
Blue PET
Just like green PET, blue PET is washed and crushed into plastic beads, ready to be reused to make new products.
Clear PET
Clear PET is the most common. This material is ideal for making new products such as clothes or just new bottles.
You can make one fleece out of 27 PET bottles!
HDPE
Clear plastic bottles made from HDPE (high-density polyethylene) such as fabric conditioner bottles are recycled into storage containers, shelves, drums, ducts, cable sheaths and pipes etc.
Tetra Pak packaging
Card from Tetra Pak packaging is separated from the layers of plastic and aluminium in a paper factory. The cardboard fibres begin a new life there, for example as cardboard boxes, paper or kitchen roll. The plastic and aluminium can then be used separately or together in new products such as flower boxes or boards for industrial use in construction.
Non-ferrous metals
Recycled aluminium often ends up in the food sector. Think, for example, of drinks cans, prepared meals and aerosols. Aluminium is also used in the construction sector, for window frames among other things. Lastly, this material also plays an important role in industry, in producing parts for cars and for electrical appliances for example.
With 670 drinks cans you can make one bike!
Blue PMD bags
We also recycle blue PMD bags. They are converted into alternative fuels for the cement industry.
Residue
The residue is what remains behind once all the PMD waste has gone through all the sorting stages - in other words, all the material we could not recycle. This material is sent to a specialist recycling centre where it is reduced, washed and sorted one more time.
Do you want to know how suitable for recycling your waste is?
Are you in the process of designing a new product and want to know about the recycling possibilities? We would be delighted to carry out tests with you.