Extrusion International USA 1-2021

46 Extrusion International 1/2021 RECYCLING Ef fi cient recycling of PP raf fi a Post-industrial recycling of PP raf fi a, woven sacks, tapes, non-woven/wo- ven could be challenging at times for some producers due to the following reasons: It’s dif fi cult to process in one single step due to size and strength of the material waste (ex. FIBC and jumbo bags). When recycling has to be done in sev- eral processing steps, it is not cost-ef- AD*STAR bags) as the degassing and screw design of the recycling machine is not ideal for this type of material with extra amount of ink. (Picture 1) One-step, simple solution for raf fi a/ woven recycling Polystar’s Repro-One recycling ma- chine provides solutions to the above problems with the following fea- tures: Raffia Producer Now Recycles in One Step fective for the producers in terms of labor, electricity, and occupying too much factory space. It’s dif fi cult to retain material proper- ty (strength and elasticity) after recy- cling in which the material degrades excessively and therefore, the reus- ability of the recycled pellets back into the production lines is relatively low. And it is dif fi cult to process heav- ily printed woven bags (for example Picture 1: Comparing to fi lmwaste, it is more dif fi cult to cut and feed raf fi a waste consistently into the recyclingmachine for its strength and size. Usually, it has to be done in separate steps Picture 2: One step process – Shredding + Extrusion + Pelletizing: Instead of having a separate off-line crusher or shredder, POLYSTAR’s Repro-One integrates the shredder with the extruder, allowing a more automated and consistent feeding of the material, which results in stable output and higher quality of recycled pellets