Extrusion International USA 2-2022

50 Extrusion International 2/2022 RECYCLING Reuse instead of Incineration Executive director Markus Krall ex- plains: “The sneeze guard – omni- present due to the pandemic – pres- entlyisstillaratherdormantresource for plastic recycling. We expect an increasing amount of them to incur at the recycling centres and at the classical disposal companies acting as local collection points for rubbish and industrial waste. The different, but visually very similar plastic types cannot be distinguished there, so that the plates mostly are unsorted and then have to be disposed of as residual waste with costs. By con- trast, there is our offer to accept these collected goods and to return them into the raw materials cycle. We accept all common box systems up to large containers, and beyond that even offer the possibility to un- load walking- fl oor trucks.” As the mechanical recycling is only possible with identical plastics, Krall late (PMMA), followed by about 10 % polycarbonate (PC) as well as small amounts of PET-A and PET-G, styrene-based thermoplastics like PS, SAN, or ASA, and PVC, too. To guarantee that the fi nished re- grind will be actually single-origin despite these unfavourable condi- tions, Krall made a future-oriented investment. The company is just starting up a new system especially con fi gured for its demands to safely distinguish and separate even very similar plastic materials. This en- ables the recycler to offer regrinds with nearly virgin material process- ing quality. This exceeds by far the common sorting by colours, which the company keeps on doing as a standard feature and also offers as a service. Hygienic Shields Become High-Quality Recycling Resources A great number of hygienic shields, commonly known as sneeze guards, is being used in industrial and trade facilities, as well as in the catering trade and restaurant business. Now the disposal of these highly transparent plates, whichmay consist of very different plastic material, is becoming an issue. Krall Kunststoff-Recycling has foresightedly prepared for a sustainable recycling. With a powerful infrastructure and state-of-the-art technology, today the company is able to accept randomquantities and turn them into single origin regrinds that are highly demanded in the plastic industry. For waste disposal companies and collecting points, this is an environmentally friendly and fi nancially attractive alternative to the thermal utilisation of these mixed plastic scraps Krall Kunststoff-Recycling GmbH Glanzstoffstr. 21, 63820 Elsenfeld amMain, Germany https://kunststoff-recycling.de then performs the task fi rstly to sort the materials separately according to fractions and only then to grind them. “With this step, the regrind becomes attractive for reuse, as only then it can be used for the produc- tion of high-quality plastic products again, be it injection of moulded parts or extrusion of plates and pro- fi les”, says Krall. With Future-oriented Technology to Sorting Purity The heterogeneity of the collected goods is due to the discrepancy between the sudden high demand for corresponding plates and the limited supply of raw materials re- spectively available at short term. Krall continues: “As we tradition- ally also dispose of the production residues of producers and proces- sors, we know quite exactly what to expect. This will mainly be – up to about 70 % – polymethyl methacry- Krall provides disposers and collecting points with a comfortable possibility to return used hygienic shields for infection protection (also known as sneeze guards), as well as corresponding production residues to a sustainable, environmentally friendly reuse saving both resources and costs (© iStock.com/miodrag ignjatovic)