Recycling truck

A purpose-built agrichemical container recycling truck has been developed and will begin collecting some of the estimated 10 million plastic agrichemical containers disposed every year in New Zealand.

The truck and its shredding technology has been developed by 3R Group and AXO Shredders and is capable of storing and shredding approximately 3500 20 L chemical containers.

The truck process involves a series of conveyors that feeds plastic into the shredding equipment set up inside the truck. The plastic containers go through two shredders before being compacted into a rear storage unit by a screw auger. The truck is easily unloaded from a 'walking floor' which ejects the shredded plastics out the back at the simple press of a button.

The process is entirely automated and by shredding the containers within the truck and reducing their volume, more containers can be collected before heading back to the depot to unload.

The truck was part of an Agrecovery Roadshow held in New Zealand in October. The Agrecovery program is a rural program that provides growers, farmers, foresters, and other primary industry chemical users with an environmentally safe way of disposing of their unwanted plastic agrichemical containers.