50:1 Improvement Handling of Foam Waste

Kent based Excell Environmental Solutions have recently signed an exclusive UK & Ireland distribution agreement with Heger GmbH, the German manufacturer of foam material handling screw compactors.

It is a already known fact expanded polystyrene packaging materials to protect parts used in manufacturing cause a sizeable disposal problem when in actual fact it is now a profitable recyclate.

Heger screw compactors are specifically designed to reduce the size of expanded polystyrene and polypropylene foams by up to a 50:1 ratio for easier storage, more economical transportation and to lower the risk of fire.

Both the industrial manufacturing and retail sectors constantly review waste stream efficiencies as key performance indicators (KPI), especially foam packaging, due precisely to its weight to area ratio. The Heger 50:1 screw compaction system creates an easily handled extruded profile and once processed these compressed logs can be more economically transported by pallet and re-enter the raw materials market as a recyclate.

The Heger Tiger and Lion compactors are widely used throughout Europe to manage foam waste streams in numerous environments which include; food processing plants, seafood packaging plants, electronics manufacturing, warehouses storing white and brown goods and retail supermarkets. More recently waste transfer stations and plastics reprocesses.

The Heger screw compactor can efficiently recycle EPP, XPS, EPE and EPS Styropor foam materials up to 700kg/m3 and as the main process track is manufactured of stainless steel the purest end product is produced for maximum market return.

Compared to melt extrusion densifiers, the Heger screw compactor technology has the advantage of a reduced energy consumption as the auger avoids thermal deterioration and reduction of the material viscosity. This process is also suitable for continuous operation and does not produce of any harmful odours.

Using the Heger compactor could not be easier. An operator places the foam parts in the loading hopper of the machine. An efficient pre-breaker, with two toothed rotating shafts reduces the shaped parts into pieces into a 20-50 mm fraction. These pieces are then forced by an auger into the pressure channel for compaction. The square block continuously discharges from the machine, where it can then be easily separated as logs and loaded onto pallets.

This significant volume reduction (up to 50:1), compacted foam takes up much less storage space in the extruded log form, reducing the environmental impact of unnecessary freight handling resulting in significant cost savings and higher recycle values when compared with conventional disposal methods.

From a single machine solution to a complete turnkey requirement, talk to one of their professional team at Excell Environmental Solutions Limited today to visit our Test and Training Centre.