Rigid Plastic Recycling Line: Industrial Washing, Shredding & Pelletizing for HDPE, PP & PVC Waste

Kitech’s processing parameters indicate hdpe and PP are compatible and capable of co-processing in one rigid plastic washing line to yield a blended polyolefin regrind. hdpe and PVC should never be processed with PP or HDPE— even minute impurities (generally above 0.5%) pollute the regrind and can result in long-term corrosion of extruder components. PVC waste streams should either be run through the float-sink separator prior to the extruder or be fed through a dedicated PVC recycling line.

Kitech relies on a single-shaft shredder as the first-size reduction step. Tarps, bulky rigid items crates, automotive bumpers, and industrial drums can all be introduced directly into the shredder chamber, where a high-torque rotor with hardened blades shreds and cuts materials into fragments of 30–100 mm. A screen at the base of the chamber provides output size control while ensuring consistent throughput before the material heads towards the washing plant. Running at lower RPM (generally 40-120) than a granulator but with higher torque distinguishes a Kitech shredder from the less aggressive granulator—a critical point for optimal size reduction.

A full plastic washing stage is necessary when processing post-consumer rigid plastic post-consumer waste. Because these materials contain food debris, labels, sand, oil residues, and other contaminants they will contaminate regrind and compromise extruder and downstream processing equipment unless separated prior to extruding. Industrial in-house post-manufacturing scrap from injection molding machines can forgo the full plastic washing step and proceed directly to a granulator, although it would be prudent to pre-rinse the clean scrap material.

Three capacity tiers: Compact (100–500 kg/h), Standard (500–1,000 kg/h), and Heavy-Duty (1,000–2,000+ kg/h). Actual output depends on material type, contamination load, and target purity. Our engineers size each line to your real input stream, not a clean-material benchmark.

Pricing is variable based on the appropriate capacity, contaminant load, and washing configuration. Price ranges per series: Compact (100-500 kg/h) from $80,000-$180,000 USD, Standard series (500-1,000kg/h with full regrind washing) in the $200,000-$420,000 channel, and Heavy Duty (3,500-4,000 kg/h turnkey) from $400,000 to $900,000+. These representing current industry norms and should be used as reference only. Kitech will craft a project proposal to suit you.

Installation of a standard Kitech rigid plastic recycling takes approximately 2-4 weeks depending upon facility infrastructure and line complexity. Commissioning— including run and trial production with your actual input— typically takes an additional 1-2 weeks. Operator training is included as part of the commissioning schedule. Remote commissioning assistance is available upon prior consultation.

One-shaft shredder is used in initial size reduction stage where bulky oversized rigid objects are reduced into more manageable pieces (30 – 100 mm) by using low RPM, high torque cutting. In another stage granulator types of blade is utilized to carry out further fine size reduction after washing and drying by using higher RPM to cut clean, dry flakes to homogenized pellet ready piece (usually 5-15mm).

Certainly. Kitech has a total turnkey delivery service offering the full Kitech plastic recycling solution from initial site survey and line planning, to system manufacturing, delivery, fit-out, commissioning and operator training. Our worldwide network of trained service agents spans in excess of 80 countries. We offer ‘world-class’ 24/7 after commissioning technical support. We can supply spare parts, for the majority of standard modules, within 3 working days.