The Plastic Industry: Why Rubber Granulators Are Important

The plastic industry is one of the biggest polluters in the world. In 2018 the US alone generated 35.7 million tons of plastic.

And what happens to this plastic? A lot of this plastic ends up as waste, causing damage to the environment. So how do we combat this?

Reducing and reusing are important. Recycling plastic means using the plastic that already exists, rather than creating even more. This plastic recycling would not be possible without granulators.

Keep reading to learn more about the important role of plastic granulators in the plastic industry!

What Are Plastic Granulators?

Plastic granulators are machines that break down plastic. In the recycling process plastic goes through granulators, which usually slice or grind the plastic up.

Rubber granulators are a type of plastic granulator, used to break down heavy plastics or rubbers. Rubber recycling requires specific granulators because rubber is a much sturdier type of plastic. If rubber went through a regular plastic granulator the machine would get stuck.

How Granulators Work

A granulator is a similar machine to a wood chipper, but for plastic.

There is a large opening on one end of the machine, which the plastic goes into. Inside the machine is a series of blades, reducing the plastic into the desired pieces. There is a shoot where the recycled plastic drops from the machine into a catch container.

A rubber granulator works the same way but has a different set of blades than regular plastic granulators. The blades have different angles and sharpness and spin at different speeds. This way it can break down the heavy plastic.

Plastic is granulated into bales, sheets, or chips of plastic. This changes depending on the granulator, the type of plastic, and the desired use for the plastic.

Impact of Granulators on the Plastic Industry

Granulated plastic can either be used in its granulated form, or it can be further processed through pelletizing. Pelletizing refers to using recycled plastic to create plastic pellets. These pellets are used as new plastic, which gets melted down to make entirely new plastic items.

A popular use of granulated rubber chips is as a replacement for the ground in high-injury zones. Playgrounds use granulated rubber chips instead of gravel, and athletics tracks use them in their running tracks. This way when someone slips, the injury is not as bad.

These are just a few examples of ways plastic granulators are impacting the plastic industry. Granulators mean less plastic is made every year, which over time reduces the amount of damage that plastic is doing to the environment.

They also save plastic manufacturers money. With plastic recycling companies don’t always make plastic from scratch, making resources cheaper. This means there is an incentive for the plastic industry to keep up with the recycling effort.

Recycling Plastic

The plastic industry reached the size that it is because plastic is incredibly helpful. By using granulators the world can still enjoy plastic while reducing its consequences on the environment.

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