Grupo Ecological chooses Lindner Recycling Technology

Published 23/12, 2024 at 12:05

The Brazilian recycling company Grupo Ecological, based in Limeira, to the west of São Paulo, has two plastic recycling lines dedicated to processing challenging consumer and industrial waste into high quality recyclate. Two of Lindner’s shredders and a washing line are used to deliver a consistent output of high quality plastic flakes. This is the result of a joint project with Unilever, with the first product caps made from 100% recycled post-consumer plastics helping Unilever reach its 2025 global sustainability objective ahead of schedule.

In August 2022, after two years of joint in-depth research, Unilever launched the first caps for its products in Brazil made from 100% recycled post-consumer recyclate, thereby keeping 700t of plastic in the loop annually. What’s more, Unilever was able to reach its 2025 global objective to use at least 25% recycled plastic in its packaging three years earlier than planned. “Producing recyclate to be used in the cosmetics industry means it requires a high degree of purity, consistent quality as well as it needing to be odourless and virtually neutral in colour,” Fabio Kühl, founder and CEO of Grupo Ecological Kühl explains. “A standard that we are able to achieve thanks to our Lindner washing and recycling plant.”

 

Performance to impress

Fábio Kühl and his team came across Lindner’s technology at a plastics trade show in Brazil. They then visited facilities and operating lines that used Lindner shredders and washing lines. Subsequent material tests performed using Lindner plants ultimately resulted in purchasing the two Micromat 1500 shredders along with a ‘Washtech’. By using two ‘Micromat’ series shredders, the company can now process post-industrial material such as BOPP (biaxially oriented polypropylene), ‘big bag’ waste and post-consumer materials made from BOPP and polypropylene raffia (Rafi-PP). A low proportion of fine material is also important along with the throughput and resistance to contaminants. 

When dealing with heavily contaminated materials, such as post-consumer plastics, the downstream washing and drying processes are crucial to the quality of the flakes which will end up being used to produce the recyclate. “Our production includes two different recycling lines, one to process post-industrial plastics and another to recycle post-consumer plastics. When processing the post-industrial material, the plastic flakes coming out of the shredder are sent directly to the extruder whereas the post-consumer recycling line incorporates the Lindner Washtech washing components in between these machines.

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