PE, polyethylene, used for bags, films and packaging; PP, polypropylene, used for practically everything from carpets to furniture; PVC, polyvinyl chloride, found in industrial and construction applications; PET, polyethylene terephthalate, of which mineral water bottles are made; PS, polystyrene, better known as polystyrene, used for packaging due to its lightness.
Today, in Italy, urban waste contains over 5 million tons of plastics of which 40% is made up of packaging.
Given the variety within the family of plastics, a careful selection of the types of polymers is of great importance to obtain a quality final product. Plastic waste is transported, in mixed bales, to the sorting plants where they are separated manually or through automatic detectors.
During the process, cross-checks are carried out and repeated because the presence of different polymers in the same batch can produce less valuable material. In the selection phase, the aim is to obtain consistent batches of two homogeneous groups of polymers: PET and PE.
With recycled PET, sweaters and carpets are obtained, with PE new containers, and with PVC products for construction and for the home. In these cases we speak of obtaining a second raw material, underlining the fact that the recycled product obtained has technical characteristics very similar to the initial ones.
When different polymers are mixed, the so-called heterogeneous recycled plastics are obtained, which are used for the production of road signs, fences and street furniture.
The type of plastic that is used for the manufacture of plastic tanks and drums for industrial waste is called HDPE, or high-density polyethylene. It is a basically opaque material, with extremely interesting mechanical characteristics: it resists traction well, at high temperatures (even at more than 110 – 120 ° C!), And most solvents.
It is precisely its extreme robustness that makes it suitable for use as a container for the most varied uses, from food liquids to even hazardous waste: HDPE is the material that gives the greatest security to keep its contents well sealed and protected. .
From a chemical point of view, it contains carbon and hydrogen and is opposed to LDPE, low-density polyethylene, which has a similar composition but a much less pronounced specific strength.
For all these types of plastic it is important to attribute new uses and to do this you can rely on the BRUNO FOLCIERI granulation systems. Mills dedicated to mechanical recycling that can treat post-consumer and post-industrial waste. Huge quantities of disparate sizes can be processed with all available ranges. Furthermore, from today, Bruno Folcieri machines can be configured with the industry 4.0 package.