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As businesses continue to navigate an unpredictable economic climate, the long-term performance of their investments has never been more important. Implementing the right waste management solutions can bring a range of commercial and sustainability benefits to an organisation — and our RS shredders have been demonstrating this for years.

Read on to discover more about their staggering capabilities and why they are considered one of the most versatile machines in our arsenal…

Built to last

Powerful and practical, the RS30 and RS40 machines are built with longevity in mind and have truly stood the test of time due to their proven reliability, efficiency, and unique productivity. 

From car bumpers, dashboards, leather and metal shavings to WEEE, paper, textiles, waste-wood and much more — the RS series can shred, size reduce and liberate a range of complex material types with both ease and speed. Thanks, in part, to our tried and tested four shaft shredding technology, which was developed specifically to tackle tough applications and withstand intense, continuous operation. 

The shredders’ durability is further enhanced through a unique design. Maintenance-free mechanical seals prevent dust and dirt from entering gears and bearings, whilst the torsion-resistant yet compact steel frame construction provides a stable, low vibrant base — helping to create an economical waste management solution that will perform from the date of installation, long into the future.

…and designed to stand the test of time

Although our machines have been expertly engineered for long-term performance, we are committed to extending the life of our solutions whenever possible.

This is why our RS series can be easily refurbished. Shredder cutters can be reconditioned at our HQ, back to original manufacturer quality, to prolong the overall service life of your cutting discs. That means cost savings of up to 50% and it’s better for the environment too!

What’s more, UNTHA UK also offers a complete shredder rebuild service, which sees the operational life of the trusty four shaft RS machines preserved by as much as 80-100%!

This handful of stand-out qualities starts to evidence just how easy it is to maximise your return on investment from this asset — and that’s before you think about the versatility benefits that come from this ultra-configurable shredder series!

A study from the National Bed Federation (NBF) has revealed that almost three-quarters of respondents who purchased a mattress between July 2022 and July 2023 would pay more for ‘greener’ mattresses — indicating the increasingly prevalent role sustainability issues are playing in consumer purchasing decisions.

The sustainable disposal of mattresses has long been an important topic in our industry, so we’re delighted to see this research hit the headlines. However, while it’s positive news that consumers want to make more eco-friendly choices, it’s important the public and organisations alike recognise landfill isn’t the only option for end-of-life mattresses. 

Here, we explore how shredding offers a valuable solution when it comes to the sustainable disposal of complex waste materials — discussing its ability to support landfill diversion, and highlighting how investing in this technology can help achieve sustainability goals. 

Unpacking the environmental impact of mattresses

Mattresses are difficult to recycle for several reasons. They are large and bulky items, which makes them inconvenient and costly to handle and transport. The materials they are made from also pose a challenge, as they are typically constructed from a mixture of foam, fabric, metal springs and wood — which can all be difficult and costly to separate and process. 

Plus, in many areas, there is a lack of infrastructure dedicated to the responsible disposal of mattresses. The technology needed to separate, sort or liberate the component materials so they can be recycled or transformed into valuable resources, such as solid recovered fuels (SRF), can be very costly, and may not integrate easily into a business’s wider operations. This leaves many organisations reluctant to invest in the necessary technologies or machinery. So even if people want to get rid of their mattresses sustainably — they may not have convenient options available to them.

These barriers often lead to the unsustainable (and unsightly!) disposal of mattresses, where they are frequently sent to landfills or worse still, fly-tipped — which has a huge impact on the surrounding environment. Considering research by the North London Waste Society, which has revealed that over 7 million mattresses are thrown away in the UK each year — it’s clear that something needs to change, especially when taking into account the large quantities of material and energy involved in their production.

Offsetting this environmental impact through recycling is essential — but unfortunately, many people are still unaware of the fact that mattresses can, and should be recycled.

Investing in a mattress shredder

Successfully recycling mattresses depends on their effective deconstruction, so the different materials can be liberated for effective downstream sorting and re-insertion into the value chain.

Shredding offers a great solution, as the right shredder can break down even the bulkiest of mattresses into its individual component parts. For example, shredded foam can be used as padding in other products, while  wood and metal could be used in new products or melted down for future use. By repurposing materials and giving them a second life, less waste ends up in landfills — which in the long term, can reduce the environmental impact associated with mattresses. 

Shredding also brings benefits from a financial perspective, as dismantled mattresses take up significantly less space than intact mattresses, which immediately reduces transport and storage costs. Carefully segregated and non-contaminated materials can also be sold for re-sale, which reduces manufacturers’ reliance on raw materials.

Sustainable shredding in practice

Renowned for making the ”unshreddable” shreddable, we stock a range of powerful machines, specially engineered to destroy mattresses with ease. This includes the UNTHA XR  — our heavy-duty mattress shredder with a 3m wide loading aperture, which can mechanically dismantle a mattress in as little as 30 seconds. 

With every shred, this powerful electric-driven machine proactively diverts mattresses away from landfills — enabling waste handlers and producers to advance their green credentials, take a more circular approach to mattress disposal and achieve specific environmental goals. 

This has been seen in the case of our client Textek, a Shropshire-based recycling company, which has achieved its ambitious target to recycle one million end-of-life mattresses per annum — thanks to the amazing capabilities of two UNTHA XR3000C shredders. The XR investment has bolstered Textek’s pitch as being the UK’s most advanced bulky waste processing plant, helping the business deliver on its goal of producing a closed loop recycling system that can efficiently process and recycle complex material types, and achieve 100% landfill diversion.

In order to cater to the growing demand for our advanced shredding solutions, we’re delighted to announce our further investment in a series of stock RS machines at UNTHA UK’s Boroughbridge HQ. With this strategic move, we are aiming to enhance customer satisfaction — reducing wait times and guaranteeing immediate availability of our globally-renowned shredders. 

The industrial waste management sector is witnessing a rapid surge in the need for reliable and efficient shredding machinery. As industries continue to prioritise responsible and sustainable practices, the demand for UNTHA’s solutions has grown exponentially. 

In addition to enquiries from waste contractors, recycling specialists and energy firms, in recent years we’ve noticed rising demand from manufacturers, engineering companies, retailers, warehouse and logistics firms, and other producers of waste who have previously passed their materials onto a third party to be managed. However, now realising the circular — and economic — value of the ‘waste’, they are seeking to bring their processes in-house. 

So, to meet the surge in demand effectively, we’ve welcomed six new stock RS shredders — the RS30, RS40, RS60 and RS100 — from our renowned product lineup, ready to be dispatched all over the UK. 

One of the most versatile shredders in our range, the RS dates back to over 50 years ago. And, while the design has been optimised to suit evolving and ever-trickier recycling requirements, it is still considered one of our leading machines to this day. These shredders cater to a diverse range of applications — including confidential waste, WEEE, organic material, and plastics — enabling businesses to optimise their waste handling processes while achieving high levels of resource recovery. Think ultra-configurability for a homogenous shred, every time. 

By maintaining a ready-to-ship inventory of our leading-edge machinery, we are now better equipped to promptly fulfil customers’ orders — no matter the scale or complexity. Our strategic investment not only streamlines the procurement process, but reduces downtime and boosts operational efficiencies for our customers too. 

“We are delighted to announce our investment in this additional stock machinery — a timely move to continue to provide unparalleled support to our customers,” noted Marcus Brew, UNTHA UK’s MD. “With readily available shredders, we effectively eliminate wait time and ensure that our clients can address waste management targets efficiently and sustainably.

“In addition to this bold investment, we’ve also refurbished our on-site trials facility and procured four new demonstration machines, allowing organisations from across the country to see what the shredders are really capable of, and test them with their own materials.” 

Organic waste has long been a major focus for UNTHA shredding technology. And as our MD Marcus Brew and director of global business development Gary Moore plan to head to ‘down under’ to see partners and customers, we predict that conversations on the topic will really peak.

So, when it comes to the processing of food waste and garden organics — referred to by many in Australia as ‘FOGO’ — here are 10 things you need to know from the UNTHA team…

1. A third of food waste produced worldwide, is wasted — a frightening fact when you consider our mounting environmental conscience. But this has long been a big problem on a global scale. That’s why, many years ago, we developed a custom RS40 — a specially-adapted version of our patented four shaft shredder, engineered specifically for this tricky material stream.

2. Food waste and other organic material can be extremely corrosive which leads to high wear on processing technologies. When it comes to our organic shredding solutions we’ve therefore tried to think of everything to reduce downtime and whole life running costs, including special sealants to prevent material ingress.

3. Green waste has been a popular application for the UNTHA XR to get its teeth into in recent years, as this video spotlight shows. You can learn a bit more about the UNTHA XR-RC, in this more detailed interview with Gary Moore.

4. Foreign objects and tricky-to-shred items are common in many organic waste streams, from cutlery mistakenly collected in restaurant food scraps, through to bulky logs often thrown out with green waste. Whatever shredding technology you opt for, when it comes to due diligence, ask how the machinery is built to handle difficult materials and withstand unshreddables.

5. Output homogeneity matters for a lot of our clients, and it’s typically no different for our food, organic, and garden waste operators. Whether we’re processing food waste for anaerobic digestion or green materials for biomass, an on-specification particle is usually a top priority. And our flexible shredders are always up to the job, thanks to their ultra-configurable screens.

6. There are many uses of shredded organic material though. We’ve processed high-calorific surplus food to create a nutrient rich animal feed, we process green waste for landscaping mulch, and we’ve destroyed non-saleable edible products so they don’t end up in the food chain. Sometimes our shredders are simply used to open food containers and bags to liberate the materials that are housed inside — simply tell us the challenge and we’ll advise which shredding technology is best suited for the job.

7. Our work with Advetec — a true pioneer in the scientific bio-degradation of waste — remains one of our favourite collaborations. Still an active client today with a mounting number of projects, here’s a case study from the archives.

8. In the UK, organic waste collection methodologies vary from one local authority to the next, which risks restricting wider recycling progress. Some councils are extremely progressive when it comes to composting encouragement, for example, whereas others offer very few options as standard, which means perfectly recyclable materials find themselves contaminated because segregation at source simply doesn’t occur. The entire supply chain therefore continues to have a huge job on its hands to keep educating everyone, regarding best practice and the role we each play in meeting targets.

9. This is not a problem isolated to the UK however. We saw a great article the other day, which strived to achieve clarity for households in Australia – you can check it out here.

10. From hospitality leftovers, to international catering waste, slaughterhouse byproducts, packaged food products, garden and green materials, organic waste is a big topic — and one that we could talk about all day.

Robustly designed and highly reliable, our RS30 and RS40 machines are equipped with four shaft shredding technology to shred, size reduce and liberate a complex range of materials, with both ease and efficiency.

Find out the key to their performance, and why they remain one of the most popular shredders in our range, in this quickfire Q&A with Sarah Murray, sales office manager at UNTHA UK. 

What is the history of the RS shredding machines?

The RS shredding range goes way back! Its story began over 50 years ago, when the first RS shredder was designed and manufactured. Although the design has been developed and optimised over the years, it is still considered one of our leading machines to this day, reflected in its widespread use by a range of recycling clients across the globe.

What makes the four shredding process effective? 

Functional in design and equally productive, these robust machines are renowned for the high-quality output material they produce. This is achieved by the four shaft technology in-built in this equipment, which shreds and reshreds waste in a single pass, for a homogenous output, every time!

Why are the RS shredders so popular?

The refined, on-specifiation fraction sizing of the output material is incredibly consistent — which is ideal for downstream sorting technologies and the maximum extraction of valuable resources. This, and so much more, makes these machines excellent investments for businesses wanting to accelerate their sustainability credentials and implement closed-loop recycling solutions — even when they have a small site footprint available.

They can also be tailored to customers’ individual requirements, and are available either as a standalone machine or within a complete turnkey solution. So, whether you’re looking for a brand new waste processing solution, or technology to add to your pre-existing recycling line, these machines can fit seamlessly into wider recycling strategies.

What waste can these shredders be used for?

The RS range is incredibly robust and has a high resistance to foreign objects, which makes these shredders perfect for tackling high volumes of WEEE, metals, and large domestic appliances.

From confidential documents, plastic packaging and swarf, to, production waste, hard drives and more, these machines are highly flexible, with numerous input and output possibilities. 

Are they difficult to use?

As with all UNTHA machines, the RS range is user-friendly, is engineered to ensure the highest safety standards, and is easy to maintain. Full operator training is provided with every installation, but our expert team is always on hand to answer any queries, or provide additional engineer support whenever necessary.  

UNTHA is playing a leading role in helping Textek, a Shropshire-based recycling company, achieve its ambitious target to recycle one million end-of-life mattresses per annum — thanks to the amazing capabilities of two UNTHA XR3000C shredders. 

Installed three years ago in 2020, these machines lie at the heart of the operation’s bespoke mattress and bulky waste shredding line — a full recycling process resulting from eighteen months of research, design and development. This initiative was implemented as part of Textek’s wider sustainability strategy, and is instrumental in helping the organisation fulfil its core aim of diverting as many mattresses and sofas from landfill as possible. 

Speaking about the project, Martin Price, Managing Director at Textek, said: “An estimated 7 million mattresses were disposed of in 2017, at a cost of at least £20m, before considering transport and handling. This – coupled with illegal dumping, not to mention the environmental and commercial cost of manufacturing new replacement products – means the impact of this notably tricky waste stream is quickly spiralling.

“While government initiatives are gradually looking at improved strategies for such bulky waste handling, we identified a need to move faster, so turned our attention to designing our own automated line.

“But we don’t want to stop there – already we’re thinking about the creation of additional dedicated bulky waste recycling lines, in other parts of the country.”

A closed-loop, sustainable system 

The XR investment has bolstered Textek’s pitch as being the UK’s most advanced bulky waste processing plant, as it can mechanically dismantle a mattress in as little as 30 seconds, compared to the seven minutes it would take for a skilled worker to manually break down this complex product type.

This is possible due to UNTHA’s robust machines, which are specially designed to shred and liberate difficult materials quickly and easily. The two XR3000C machines are at the start of the system, which separate the full mattress down to its constituent parts — ferrous metal and flock for an alternative SRF fuel. With almost 3m wide loading apertures, the XRs shred the mattresses with ease, down to a <50mm particle size to liberate the steel from the flock, so it can be fed over a sophisticated magnetic separation system for further ferrous extraction. 

Producing premium flock

Unlike other energy and time intensive technologies, UNTHA’s shredders deliver these high quality outputs in one single pass. 

The flock is separated from contaminated material to produce a premium SRF with a high calorific value of approximately 24MJ, and three grades of clean ferrous materials are segregated for resale, smelting and remanufacturing.

Consequently, Textek has achieved its goal of producing a closed loop recycling system that can easily and efficiently process and recycle complex material types — and importantly, achieve 100% landfill diversion.

Outstanding performance

The high throughput and performance levels of these machines mean that Textek can now process 300 mattresses per hour — equating to a remarkable 1.1 million mattresses being recycled and kept out of landfills per annum. They also bring notable financial and operational benefits, as they are both low maintenance and low-energy.

Elaborating on their value, Martin Price, MD at Textek, said: “No other mattress shredder will give you this material liberation on the belt. With UNTHA, the numbers really stack up in terms of throughputs, output quality, and revenue potential. It’s easy to operate too, not to mention clean and green — thanks to the world renowned UNTHA EcoDrive.”

Why UNTHA?

Textek rigorously vetted several competitor shredders as part of the technology selection process. The XR was deployed to the site for a one-week trial to prove it could handle the variety of foam and sprung mattresses currently being disposed of in the UK. Impressed with the results, Textek then took the machine back for a second trial to ensure the equipment could achieve even the most challenging capacity targets.

Commenting on the project, UNTHA UK’s sales director Gary Moore said: “The National Bed Federation published a report in June 2019 which admitted the ambitious nature of the target to divert 75% of mattresses away from landfill.

“The NBF itself set this target in October 2018 but considering the recycling rate at the time of writing the report was only 20%, the uphill struggle is clear.

“The industry needed a step change and what Textek has done is truly inspiring. We always say our technology is designed to process even materials that are deemed non shreddable, and it’s a pleasure to see an organisation push the boundaries of innovation and put our machines to the test.”

In the latest of a series of fundraising events for our charity of the year, Marie Curie, we’re delighted to announce the launch of a completely new and eye-catchingly unique shredder!

Introducing our custom-sprayed shredder

To mark the occasion and pay tribute to the brilliant work that Marie Curie does, we custom-sprayed one of our best-selling shredders — the UNTHA RS40 four-shaft machine — in the charity’s recognisable blue and yellow colour palette. 

Bold, bright, and perfect for shredding confidential waste, WEEE, plastics, organic waste and more, this compact yet durable machine is not only the first of its kind to look like this, but also guarantees a homogeneous output material every time. 

Our support doesn’t stop there, either. When we sell this unique machine, we’ll also transfer an incredible £5,000 to our JustGiving pot — as well as donating £200 from every other 2023 shredder sale, to Marie Curie. This means that our customers will benefit from the high-performance shredding capabilities of our machines, whilst also knowing that they’ve supported an incredibly worthy cause. 

To further increase the money raised over the year, our team will be engaging with a 12-month calendar of fundraising activities, which include a summer bake sale, sponsored walk, sky dive, and firewalk. Stay tuned for further updates!

Although it was difficult to choose between the many worthy causes, Marie Curie was selected because of the invaluable help it provides to so many people we know. We hope that the money raised this year will support their ongoing research, policy, and public affairs work — and of course, the delivery of nursing and hospice care that so many people need.

At UNTHA UK, we’ve offered flexible finance packages for as long as we can remember, so that as many customers as possible can get their hands on one of our industrial shredders. 

With multiple options available, we’ve tried to ensure that even ambitious start-ups can invest in an UNTHA, if that’s the right machinery for their needs. But sometimes it’s not a case of deciding whether to raise the capital or spread the cost over a lease period. Because sometimes it’s not about the money – it’s about the project. 

There are occasions where a shredder is needed on only an ultra short-term basis, perhaps because it has to tackle an unexpected influx of materials, for example, and then the machine will no longer be required. 

This was the case when we took a call from Sunday Times Fast Track 100 company SugaRich, for instance. They needed a high-capacity machine with an unbelievably short lead time, to tackle an urgent product destruction project. Without delay, we swung into action to meet the brief for this six-week shredding assignment – and in fact, the UNTHA XR completed the job two weeks ahead of schedule. 

This is when a shredder hire agreement makes perfect sense.

We’ve also had companies choose to purchase an UNTHA shredder configured to their exact requirements, but they’ve been so impressed with the technology during an on-site trial, that they’ve asked if they can temporarily keep this demo machine on a rental agreement, while their shredder is being manufactured. Once again, if we can make this happen, we’ll be only too happy to assist. 

“This is just another way for us to support the needs of our customers,” explains sales director Gary Moore. “If there’s a waste challenge to be solved, I love to think it can be an UNTHA shredder at the heart of it.

“We’re so financially robust as a company, that we’ve purchased a number of stock shredders so they’re available in the UK for immediate dispatch. In fact, we continue to hit the headlines for our investment in stock machines, so we can keep businesses shredding, because sometimes organisations don’t always know what’s around the corner. A shredder hire service feels like the icing on the cake when it comes to providing customers with options that truly meet their project requirements.”

If there’s a waste challenge to be solved, I love to think it can be an UNTHA shredder at the heart of it.