UNTHA UK’s newly promoted service manager Ben Styles is the next colleague to tackle one of the FAQs rippling through the waste industry at present. Here, he considers the role that an industrial shredder can play in maximising metal recycling rates…

It’s difficult trying to provide a single helpful answer to a broad question, particularly in this industry. Waste, by its very nature, is extremely varied, so there can and should never be a ‘one size fits all’ mindset, when devising a solution to process materials.

However, if we think back to an earlier blog from my colleague Sarah Murray, she considered some of the reasons operators invest in shredding technology:

• Volume reduction
• Material liberation
• Material separation

And these three factors help shape the answer to why firms should consider using a metal shredder to maximise their recycling rates.

Take electronic scrap for example – a material stream which can of course be broken down manually, by hand. However, this approach is time consuming and labour intensive. Shredding to liberate the various ferrous and non-ferrous metals, precious material, WEEE plastic and so on – which could otherwise remain trapped inside – means it is far easier for any downstream separation equipment to do its job. And thus, the recycling rates of these clean, high-value materials increases – as does the overall capacity of the recycling operation itself. If you’d like any more information on how to design an effective WEEE shredding line, take a look at our free guide – particularly if you’ve relied only on a hammer mill or similar, to date.

Metal shredders don’t just add value when it comes to WEEE recycling, of course. For example, we’ve seen shredders help to extract foreign objects from supposedly segregated medical waste streams – including a titanium hip joint which had somehow got mixed up with condemned hospital PPE.  In a completely different sector (wood shredding for biomass) the Crapper & Sons case study is one of the most-read projects on our website – not least because of the weekly revenue stream generated from the sale of clean metals extracted from the in-built magnet belt of the UNTHA XR mobil-e.

Our metal shredders are of course also sought when simply shredding… metals. Size reducing a single process material, such as extruded aluminium waste, for example, can increase the bulk density of the metal. When fed into a furnace, the operator consequently reduces the air in the system, and achieves a more efficient smelt process.

In truth, the examples could go on and on. To revert to my first point, a shredder won’t always be required to achieve fantastic metal recycling rates. However, for forward-thinking operators who care greatly about throughputs, on-specification particle sizing and maximum outputs – from both an environmental and commercial perspective – I really would give it some thought.

To discuss metal shredding in more detail, drop us an email or give us a call on 0330 056 4455, to chat through your requirements. Also, did you know Ben recently celebrated his 10-year anniversary with UNTHA UK – congratulations Ben!