Pelletising unit to boost WA soft plastics recycling

REMONDIS Australia has secured a soft plastics pelletising unit that converts old plastics to pellets used as feedstock in making materials for similar applications or new products.

The Erema Intarema TVEplus 1310 RegrindPro unit will be imported by CEMAC technologies from Austria and will be based at REMONDIS’s Jandakot site.

At maximum operation, the unit is capable of producing up to 5000 tonnes of pellets per year that will be sold locally and internationally for low-density polyethylene and other plastics making.

Chris Gusenzow, REMONDIS Australia General Manager – Western Australia, says the investment is in response to demands for circularity and federal COAG plastics export bans.

“Big players such as supermarkets and other large retailers are always asking what’s happening to disposable plastic, and this is as close as we can get to a silver bullet recycling solution,” Gusenzow said.

The unit creates pure-form pellets that can be used to make new, similar products, a notch above other recycling equipment where pellets are downcycled.

“This particular unit is unique because its multiple filtration process removes several contaminants. The unit also comprises triple degassing, allowing highest possible removal of volatiles, thereby producing pure and ready-to-use pellets at the end of the process,” Gusenzow said.

CEMAC technologies Managing Director Eric Paulsen described the unit as the high-end workhorse of plastics recycling.

“The machine can handle a wide range of material types, including film and rigid plastics waste fractions, and still manages to produce cleanest possible pellet product, which can be used to kickstart the product manufacturing process all over again,” Paulsen said.

The unit can work long hours as required, depending on the scheduled output.

The pelletising unit is expected to be shipped to Perth later this year and be operational in early 2024.