Plastic bottle recycling companies. Plastic bottle recycling plant - stable income and investment in the environment

Man produces a huge amount of garbage every year.

Harsh statistics give a figure of 200 kg per year, and a good third of this is plastic bottles.

Some people know that such a bottle - valuable source of recyclables, others do not, others simply do not think about it.

And multi-colored bottles fly together into ordinary ballot boxes.

Recently, the organization of lines for PET bottles has moved from the field of non-standard ideas to a very real and very profitable business area. People took care of providing raw materials for decades to come.

Refusal of cheap plastic packaging in favor of greener (and more expensive) materials is unlikely in the near future. Under natural conditions, polymers take hundreds of years to decompose, so why not combine profits from own business with concern for the home planet?

In Russia, no more than 6% is recycled plastic bottles, while in the world this figure reaches 70-90%.

A pioneer in this type of business on Russian land became the processing plant "Plarus", near the city of Solnechnogorsk. The company works according to a unique scheme "bottle to bottle" since 2007. IN this moment Plarus produces raw materials only for technical needs, but in the near future it is planned to launch the production of pellets that meet the quality standards of the food industry.

At first glance, there should be no problems finding raw materials for processing. Landfills and bins are overflowing with abandoned PET bottles. However, in reality, the main problem that one has to face is the underloading of the production line. Monitoring of buy and sell ads plastic waste will give an initial concept of market conditions and prices.

It makes sense to consider installing one or more plastic bottle collection points. The conclusion of an agreement with city dumps for the supply of raw materials will significantly expand business opportunities.

Dump city with a population of 100 thousand people. can produce up to 20 tons of PET bottles monthly.

First steps

The specifics of business (we work for the benefit of society!) are conducive to support from the authorities. It can be:

• subsidies;
• grants;
• provision of premises on preferential terms.

It is possible that appropriate programs are operating in the region right now. Registration required legal entity , individual entrepreneurship is not suitable for this type of business. The optimal form of organization is LLC. To obtain a license, an environmental opinion from the relevant bureau of expertise, permits from the SES and the fire service, you will need to spend from 30 thousand rubles.

Room selection depends on the planned scale of production.

The full-cycle line for the processing of plastic bottles consists of several overall units, plus belt conveyors connecting them.

The total length of the installation is about 35 meters. In addition to the actual production premises, it is necessary to provide a place for storing raw materials and recyclables.

A plastic bottle is a voluminous and lightweight material that occupies a solid area. Such production will require a large hangar or plant workshop, preferably outside the city, in an industrial zone.

Mobile alternative to a stationary workshop: mini plant, which is entirely placed in a 6-meter container. This option is great if you plan to collect raw materials in several small towns. Loading the processing line with original PET raw materials is a top priority for successful business development.

In both cases, it is necessary to establish the necessary communications:

• supply of electricity;
• water pipes;
• sewer for waste disposal.

Technologically, the process does not belong to a number of complex ones. All works can be completed in 2-3 days.

Production Line

The complete recycling cycle of plastic bottles consists of three stages, and a ready-to-work line of three main links.

Technology Development recent years is aimed at a general reduction in the stages of the production cycle of processing at all its stages.

Previously, the process was much more complex and multi-stage.

Crusher

This includes waste already sorted by color, freed from covers and labels. The device operates on the principle of a blender and cuts whole bottles into small pieces.

Agglomerator

Plastic mass - flex- subjected to finer crushing and subsequent sintering into small lumps.

Finished intermediate product - agglomerate- you can already sell, or you can move on to the next cycle to get better, and more expensive raw materials.

Granulator

The mixture is heated again and in this state is subjected to cutting. After cooling, the final product of processing is obtained - granules.

Process in numbers

Minimum budget for the purchase of a full cycle line for the processing of PET bottles - 5.5-6 million rubles(100 thousand dollars). It is desirable to add 10% to this amount for the installation and commissioning of equipment. The output of the finished product is about 80% of the feedstock (800 g of granules per 1 kg of waste).

The full cycle line is usually designed for round-the-clock operation. The mode of operation is fully automatic, except for the sorting of raw materials.

Optional equipment

High-quality multi-stage cleaning of feedstock and flex allows you to significantly increase the operating time of the extruder filter and improves the quality of the final product (agglomerate, granulate). PTF Tekhprom LLC (Russia) declares a quality that is not inferior to Western counterparts.

The price of the flex washing and drying line from this manufacturer is 5 million rubles. in the maximum configuration and 1 million in the minimum. Equipped with the following additional equipment production line will greatly improve the quality and purity of the final product:

• hot wash bath (high-quality cleaning of the flex from dirt, glue, label residues using water and chemicals);
• one or two centrifuges;
• flotation washing (effectively separates materials with different densities. Contaminants remain on the surface, while a flex having a different density settles at the bottom of the bath);
• pneumatic transport connecting the units;
• a single equipment control module.

When choosing models of processing lines, it will not be superfluous to take into account the possibility of a modular design that allows you to complement, change the order and arrangement of machines.

Each installation can be purchased separately to then assemble them into a production line. The Internet is full of ads for the sale of used components and equipment. Regular monitoring of prices will allow you to choose the right prices and technical specifications options.

Income, expenses, payback

The lines operate in automatic mode, however, raw materials need to be unloaded, sorted, loaded into units, and the finished product is transported to the warehouse. Labor productivity of one worker: 125 kg/h. Thus, 3-4 people will be required. Also needed:

• master to control the work of the line;
• accountant;
• manager-manager.

The functions of the latter can be taken over by the owner of the business, in whose direct interests is the search for sales markets. When transferring production to a round-the-clock mode of operation, much more employees will be required, but productivity will also increase significantly.

Let's calculate approximate expenses:

1. 6 million rubles for the purchase and installation of a production line;
2. 400 thousand rubles for rent and utility payments;
3. 100 thousand rubles - other expenses (obtaining a license, registering an enterprise, etc.);
4. 200 thousand rubles to pay employees.

Total: 6.7 million rubles
The line will allow processing up to 300 kg of raw materials per hour, with the production of PET flakes in the amount of 240 kg/hour.

Under the condition of an 8-hour working day and a 24-day working month, this is at least 1.5 tons of product per day or 36 tons per month. Let's round this figure up to 30. The sale price of the flex depends on the color of the plastic. Transparent is more expensive, painted - cheaper.

The cheapest plastic is brown, since it is not subject to subsequent staining.

In the world 1 ton of refined PET flakes sells for an average of $500. In Russia, prices are lower, of the order 18-25 thousand rubles per ton. Let's take the figure of 20 thousand rubles.

Calculate the approximate profitability of the processing plant:

• expenses: 6.7 million rubles;
• income before tax, per month: 600 thousand rubles.

Estimated business payback A: about 1.5 years.

Sales of finished products

Potential buyers of products will mainly be enterprises of the chemical industry.

Recycled PET is widely used in the textile industry.

Recycled polymers are significantly cheaper than virgin PET raw materials, which makes them attractive to manufacturers.

The scope of application depends mainly on the degree of contamination of the product.

Recycled PET containers can find a second life in the following areas:

• production of chemical fibers;
• production of nonwoven materials;
• production of building materials and details;
• production of consumer plastic goods;
• as an additive to primary raw materials.

These types of production are represented in all regions of the country, therefore demand for recycled PET is growing steadily. A developed sales market will allow, with minimally established connections, to carry out profitable sales of products at attractive prices.

Recycling plastic waste provides an opportunity to participate in environmental programs and effectively solve the important issue of PET recycling with obtaining a product that brings significant profit.

All stages of the processing process plastic bottles are presented in the introductory video.

In contact with

Few people think that polymers decompose for more than one hundred years. None Government program on environmental protection is not able to protect nature from plastic waste. But plastic recycling is currently carried out only by individual countries.

Not many people know that used plastic is easy to recycle and obtain feedstock for many industries. It turns out that collecting and processing plastic can not only save nature from harmful waste, but also earn a lot of money. From an ordinary plastic bottle that was in use, after processing, it is really possible to get PET containers or flex.

Flex is necessary for the production of the following products:

• paving slabs;
• packaging material.

general information

At this point, plastic bottle recycling as a business idea is one of the most profitable niches in the recycling industry. In many countries, production facilities for the processing of plastic bottles have been opened.

The processing of such raw materials as a business is very attractive, since the opening of a mini-factory is a relatively small investment (from 600 thousand rubles). And also, huge areas are not required to open production (an empty garage is suitable for a start). But it is interesting that this area is not very full at the moment, this allows you to immediately take a leading position.

Process steps

Disposal of plastic bottles is as follows:

• Waste collection (city dump, PET container collection points, waste disposal from industrial enterprises). In Russia, there is no separate storage of garbage, so the collection of plastic containers takes a huge amount of time and human labor.
• Sorting (by color) is done only by hand, since machines have not yet been invented in the world that can automatically sort plastic containers from the rest of the garbage.
• Transportation - on average, one plastic bottle for one and a half liters weighs fifty grams. Therefore, in one ton of plastic containers there are twenty thousand bottles, which occupies approximately fifteen cubic meters of space.
• Compacting debris – Hydraulic presses are great.
• Shredding of plastic bottles - pressed containers are sent to the crusher. When choosing a crusher, the size of the receiving device should be taken into account. It is not cost-effective to buy a crusher that does not fit a five-liter bottle. The cost of a crusher item depends on the country of manufacture, performance.
• Washing - the process is carried out in hot water in the proportion of one hundred kilograms of shredded plastic per thousand liters of water. Soda is added to the resulting solution. Most plants use three-section washing baths.
• Cleaning PET containers from dirt, labels, various debris. The cleaning takes place automatically thanks to the paddle drums installed in the baths.
• The second stage of washing - in case of severe contamination, the washing process is repeated to increase the final cost of recyclables and facilitate the work of the granulator.
• Drying - the cleaned flakes must be thoroughly dried.
• Direct processing into secondary raw materials (Flex) - industrial extruders are used to process flakes into granules. An extruder is an electromechanical machine designed for the production of plastic parts from a semi-finished product.

More information about the extruder

The unit is powerful tool plastic processing. Its popularity in the processing of raw materials is growing every year. The extruder consists of the following parts:

• housing with heating zones;
• boot node;
• screw (to advance raw materials in the working area of ​​the extruder);
• spinneret (gives shape to the final product);
• the motor required to rotate the auger;
• automated process control system.

Already melted plastic, moving in the working area of ​​the extruder, enters the die. Then the granules of the required shape are cooled gradually or forcibly and packed for further delivery to the customer.

In most cases, the whole process takes place without human intervention, with the help of automated control. Today, the industry is able to provide a diverse range of devices needed for automatic control and monitoring, from primary sensors to multifunctional controllers.

Prices for extruders start from eighty thousand rubles. And also suitable for the installation, which was in use. When buying, you should carefully examine the heating units, temperature control.

Top 7 DIY Equipment for Plastic Bottle Recycling Business

Assembly of documents

It will not be difficult to assemble an extruder from improvised means, for this you just need the skill of a master and initial knowledge in the field of installation, adjustment and operation of automated systems.

To get started with plastic recycling, you need to:

• a license giving the right to process household waste;
• SES permission;
• fire department permit.

The license is issued for a period of five years, but after the expiration of the term it is possible to extend it. For registration you need:

• constituent and registration papers of the enterprise;
• papers on the ownership of industrial premises.

These documents are submitted to the Ministry natural resources. All documents are checked within three working days. If errors are found in the documents, the entrepreneur has thirty days to correct these controversial issues.

If the documents are correct, then the application is considered within thirty working days. In the process of considering the application, the necessary checks will be carried out on the territory of the entrepreneur.

To obtain a license, a process of inspections is carried out on the territory of the enterprise

Based on the documents and inspections, a decision is made on compliance with all the rules for the processing of plastic containers. This is followed by the process of preparing documents, usually this procedure takes no more than forty-five days. Within the same period, the entrepreneur is obliged to pay a state duty in the amount of 7.5 thousand rubles.

The Commission refuses to obtain a license in two cases:

• non-compliance with the requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation;
• providing deliberately false information about the company.

In case of refusal, the applicant is provided with a detailed answer, which indicates all the reasons.

At a positive result, the license number is entered in the register.

The main criterion for choosing a site for the processing of containers is the distance from residential premises. Released during extrusion a large number of harmful components that adversely affect the general health of a person.

And also, to allow work, a wastewater neutralization station is required, since industrial effluents contain a large percentage of pollution.

Price criteria

The price in Russia for plastic recyclables is from forty to seventy rubles per kilogram.

For the full operation of the mini-factory you will need:

• eight workers;
• accountant;
• manager;
• two movers.

For the full operation of the enterprise, it is necessary to have an accountant

Economic calculation:

• purchase, installation and installation of a finished line for the processing of PET waste with a capacity of 73 kW per hour - 9 million rubles;
• equipment productivity - one ton of raw materials per hour (as a result, specialists can receive 800 kg of flex at the output, this is only 80%, and the rest will go to waste);
• the cost of purchasing raw materials - 8.5 thousand rubles per ton;
• the cost of the finished flex is 26.5 thousand rubles per ton.

Working eight hours a day, craftsmen can use eight tons of PET containers.

The output will be 80% of the initial raw material load of 8 tons - 6.4 tons.

The cost of purchasing the raw material base will amount to 68 thousand rubles. But at the cost of one ton of 8.5 thousand rubles.

The cost of selling the finished product is 169.6 thousand. This is taking into account the cost of one ton of 26.5 thousand rubles.

The amount of income per day, when deducting the purchase of raw materials from this amount, will amount to 101.6 thousand rubles. For 25 working days a month, experienced craftsmen earn 2.54 million rubles.

Deductions from the total amount

Monthly expenses:

• salary - four hundred thousand rubles;
• utilities and taxes - three hundred and thirty thousand rubles;
• transportation costs - three hundred thousand rubles.

Based on the indicators, the net profit per month will be one million five hundred and ten thousand rubles.

Thus, the processing of such raw materials is a profitable business with a minimum of competitors.

Rationale

Equipment for the processing of plastic bottles has a small cost in the calculation of its operation for at least 5 years.

Even a small plastic bottle recycling plant has been successfully fulfilling its duties for at least 10-15 years. There is little competition in this sector, so a plastic recycling plant easily recoups its initial costs and quickly adjusts to a bottom line.

The practice of such entrepreneurship already exists. Several mini plastic bottle recycling plants have already transitioned from lending to earning a mainstream income. The cost of the units is optimal: the machine for processing a plastic bottle has left the category of novelties for Russian market so its price is quite reasonable.

On the territory of a home mini-plant for plastic processing, the owners can locate all stages of production: from the sorting point to the final packaging of the product. It's easy to set up a line. It is completed in different rooms, even with a small area.

Video: Visiting Uralvtorpet

Most of us buy drinks in plastic bottles. Some more often, some less. But few people donate these bottles to special collection points. And some people, including officials involved in the problem of waste, are sure that the processing of such raw materials in Russia is a matter of the distant future. Meanwhile, not far from Moscow, near the city of Solnechnogorsk, the Plarus plastics processing plant has been operating since 2007 - the first Russian enterprise using a unique technology for processing plastic packaging " bottle to bottle» ( bottle-to-bottle).

Collection of plastic bottles

One of these containers is installed at Lyceum No. 8. About 70 more such nets were installed throughout Solnechnogorsk as part of a project for the separate collection and recycling of plastic bottles, which started in September 2011.

Project initiators — Administration of Solnechnogorsk municipal district, the Plarus plant, the Coca-Cola company and the largest producer of soft drinks Coca-Cola Hellenic in Russia. But, despite the fact that the project is educational activities explain to people the importance separate collection, not all residents of Solnechnogorsk share good ideas. While we were filming the container at the lyceum, one of the passing parents asked: well, guys, are you finally finishing the experiment?

To our question about how he feels about the fact that plastic is collected and sent for recycling, the man said: well ... it’s good for them (the processors), but we need to breathe it. Paradoxically, many residents of Solnechnogorsk and its environs are sure that Plarus is poisoning them. Of course, we asked the management of the plant where this belief came from and how they are doing with emissions of harmful substances. It turned out that some time ago they really were going to build some kind of chemical enterprise on the site where the Plarus now stands. So people remembered this and now they are transferring their anxiety to an enterprise that, with all its desire, cannot produce those “terrible smells” and “poisonous smoke” that Solnechniy people imagine. In addition, commissions come to the plant from time to time to check production, responding to requests from local residents. So far, there have been no complaints against the plant.

Bottles from mesh containers are loaded into a truck and taken to the factory. The company is going to soon purchase a mini-press in order to carry less air and more bottles collected around the city.

Plastic bottle recycling plant

We started our acquaintance with the plant with a conversation with commercial director Nikolai Vladislavovich Shved. He spoke about the work of the plant, about the "pitfalls" that had to be overcome in order to establish efficient production. Now the main problems are the shortage of raw materials and insufficient support from the authorities. If the administration of the Solnechnogorsk district took part in organizing plastic collection points, the authorities of the nearest Zelenograd (not to mention Moscow) are in no hurry to adopt positive experience.

This is the end product of Plarus - granules from which bottles are made.

Depending on the feedstock, the granules are obtained in different colors and qualities. And these are preforms that are made from granules. From the preforms, they “blow out” the very bottles we are used to for drinks and technical liquids.

How plastic bottles are recycled

And these are raw materials, collected PET bottles.

Unfortunately, not all collected bottles are equally good for recycling. Red beer bottles are visible in this picture. Some thought it was a good marketing ploy. But, most likely, they will not go for processing. Too high density, too much dye.

.
Here the plastic bales are stored and sorted.

Everything that is in the bales is dumped onto the conveyor belt and sent for primary sorting.

Alas, not only plastic comes in piles. Here is a list of what cannot be recycled at this plant.

We pulled all this directly from the conveyor belt. Bottles from under household chemicals, sunflower oil, kefir, cake pads, paper - all this does not need to be put in containers for collecting plastic. Ideally, of course, do not buy goods in such packaging at all, but, unfortunately, this is not always possible.

Bales with plastic bottles are very photogenic))

These plastic mounds, which have to be transported in buckets, will not be left here very soon. As soon as the press is repaired at the plant, all raw materials will be stored in bales. It is more convenient to work with piles, and they take up much less space.

Sorting of raw materials for processing

Raw materials have to be sorted manually. The quality of the finished product directly depends on this stage. After sorting, the bottles are sent to special units, where they are separated by primary colors. This is a washing shop. Bottles must be cleaned of dirt and labels.

Unfortunately, in Russia, unlike, say, Belarus, there are no standards for the glue with which labels are glued to bottles. Therefore, they are not washed from some bottles even in a special alkaline solution. So, if you hand over the bottle for recycling, it is better to cut off the label (especially the shrink one). Laundered labels (and bottle caps), by the way, also go into business. After the bottles are washed, they go under the knife. The resulting material is separated by color using a special machine. Dust from PET cutting is separated in special columns, on filters using air counterflow.

This intermediate result of work is flex. Granules are made from it. Multi-colored flex serves as a raw material for industries where products are dyed and where there are no special requirements for the purity of raw materials. From such a flex, you can make, for example, plastic basins)) Yes, bottle caps are the source for these multi-colored flakes!

Here, under a powerful magnifying glass, every 15 minutes they visually check the quality of the finished granules. Their color should be uniform, there should not be any inclusions in the granules.

Final: obtaining PET granules from recycled materials

Well, this is the final stage of production. In the photo - an extruder - a unit where, at a temperature of about 280C, the flex turns into future granules.

These pasta comes out of the extruder. They are cooled with water and cut into pellets. Fascinating sight 🙂

Finished goods warehouse. In each such bag - 1 ton, plus / minus 50 kg.

In parting, we climb into the gallery to look at the production from above. It is quite warm and humid here, the lens immediately fogs up, like in a bath)) Now Plarus produces raw materials suitable for the production of only technical bottles. But very soon, based on the results of the examination of the quality of raw materials (and it is very high), the enterprise should receive a certificate that will allow the use of Plarus granules for the production of a bottle suitable for the food industry! We will be glad to questions, comments and, of course, reposts. You look and powers of the world this” will finally notice that they have a factory nearby that is ready to help in solving the problem of waste.

All photos: © Greenpeace / Igor Podgorny
Original text © Greenpeace / Igor Podgorny — http://gp-russia.livejournal.com/1705676.html

The environmental damage from plastic waste is obvious, and we see this garbage, unfortunately, almost daily. A significant part of soft drinks and beer is packaged in plastic PET bottles. A feature of convenient PET containers is that this plastic is very resistant, and its destruction lasts for tens and hundreds of years. PET is polyethylene terephthalate (not to be confused with polyethylene), which can be recycled. Its burning causes no less harm than just burial. This is due to the fact that even at temperatures of 600-900 °C, PET does not burn out completely, but partially combines with chlorine, which is contained in waste, for example, in the form of PVC (polyvinyl chloride), forming one of the most dangerous poisons - dioxin. The lethal dose of dioxin for humans is 0.00001 g, which is less than for chemical warfare agents such as sarin and soman. Therefore, recycling plastic bottles as a business is not only cleaning environment but also concern for future generations.

Consider what the full cycle of recycling plastic bottles includes. Recycling of PET waste includes the following steps:

• waste collection;
• sorting, sometimes with pressing and transportation;
• grinding;
• washing;
• separation from contaminants (labels, lids and debris);
• repeated washing and drying;
• transformation into secondary granules.

A PET waste recycling business can be organized in a variety of ways. Naturally, the most cost-effective is a mini plastic bottle recycling plant, however, this is a profitable, but very costly investment. Let's consider everything in order.

Fundamentals of PET Waste Recycling Technology

Polyethylene terephthalate is known under the names PET, PET, PET, Mylar, Terlon, Lavsan (Laboratory of Macromolecular Compounds of the Academy of Sciences) and others. This polymer with a density of 1.4 g/cm3 (heavier than water) becomes fluid at temperatures above 250°C and decomposes above 350°C. PET is a very resistant material, which is insoluble in water, gasoline, relatively resistant to dilute solutions of acids and alkalis. It is these properties that underlie the PET processing technology.

The density of PET, which is higher than that of water, makes it possible to separate it from paper and polyethylene, which float in water, while PET settles to the bottom. The washed material is dried and, after heating to a temperature of 250-270 °C (without air access), it is squeezed out through small holes to form granules.

There are other processing technologies - into motor fuel and decomposition into initial monomers. How plastic bottles are processed into such products can be read in specialized literature and information can be found on the Internet. However, as long as there is demand for recycled PET, processing into pellets is the most cost-effective.

Waste collection, sorting and shredding

Unfortunately, in our country there is no separate storage of waste and garbage, so the collection of plastic bottles is a very difficult task. This task is further complicated by the fact that PET bottles have a very low bulk density. Usually, the description of mini plastic processing plants does not include the stage of collecting and preparing raw materials. But in vain! Here are some numbers. PET bottle weight 1.5-2.0 liters 40-50 g. So 1 ton of raw materials is 20,000-25,000 bottles, which occupy a volume (without pressing) of about 15 m3! How to collect them?

Let's immediately discard the great idea of ​​​​installing imported racks to collect bottles for money. This is good, but buying, installing and maintaining such equipment (several thousand dollars per unit) is not cheap. The installation of special containers in the yards, sorting at waste processing plants remains a real possibility. Receiving plastic for recycling in landfills (yes, yes - the homeless are the eternal guardians of the environment) is also very profitable.

Cooperation with manufacturers of PET containers is very promising. Rejected bottles are excellent raw materials.

After you have solved the problem of collecting used bottles, they need to be transported or crushed on site. You can grind at a waste processing plant or at installations in places remote from residential buildings (the smell of used containers is still the same). Let's estimate the price of equipment for processing plastic bottles at this stage.