PETpla.net Insider 06 / 2018

MATERIALS / RECYCLING PET planet Insider Vol. 19 No. 06/18 www.petpla.net 26 PET recycling developments Growing number of recycling projects in China and abroad The Chinese government’s announcement of a ban on the import of waste plastics material has had a profound impact on the country’s recycling industry. A programme of strict environmental inspections and enforcement has led to the closure of a large number of small workshops and low-efficiency factories. At the same time, it created a favourable business climate for large-scale PET bottle recycling projects. The rise in demand for its range of large-scale recycling equipment has seen Zhejiang Boretech Environmental Engineering Co., Ltd. (Boretech) complete a growing number of projects, for both domestic and international customers. Activity in China Zhejiang Boretech Environmental Engineering Co., Ltd. (Boretech) has more than 20 years of experience in PET bottle recycling. It deploys its own technology in processing post- consumer PET bottles for a range of customers. The company has been specialising in the research and devel- opment of large-capacity, high-grade PET bottle recycling equipment. It is able to offer complete production lines, complete with intelligent control systems and on-line pollution, con- tamination and waste treatment. Boretech successfully completed commissioning work of a large-scale PET bottle recycling line for a well- known Chinese group in May 2018. The project comprised two complete 6,000kg/h PET bottle washing lines, and an additional 3,000kg/h mixed- colour bottle washing line. The plant, which is designed to cope with waste bottle material with high impurity content and multiple colours, was equipped with four optical bottle sort- ers, four colour sorters, and an on-line waste treatment system that achieves zero sewage discharge, in compli- ance with China’s latest, very strict domestic environmental protection standards. Boretech expects to build more than 20 similar-scale PET bottle washing line projects in the next 3-5 years. A first in Eastern Europe In December 2017, Boretech signed a contract with a Polish organisation to provide a 1,500kg/h bottle-to-bottle grade PET bottle recy- cling washing line – its first in East- ern Europe. This project represents a major upgrade to the company’s existing cold-wash line, enabling it to expand operations into new markets and products. This line in Poland features improved appearance, equipment quality, safety in operation and spare parts specifications, compared with equipment previously exported, mainly to the Southeast Asian market. The equipment complies with CE standards. Despite its relatively low capacity, the line is equipped with an automatic bottle sorter and a flakes sorter. It has the ability to remove metal, to reject non-PET materials, and to undertake colour sorting. The crusher’s forced feeding system man- ages and controls output. The on-line labels packaging system is designed RECYCLING S P E C I A L