The Regrind Centre

RGE are proud to introduce the Regrind Centre, our in-house recycling facility. The site has been developed to recycle any plastic waste from RGE, as well as plastics from other companies, transforming the material back into new products, or breaking it down to be sold back into the market. The new site in Whittlesey will have a huge role in establishing RGE’s commitment to producing environmentally friendly products, reducing waste and our carbon footprint.
 
The Regrind Centre currently houses two granulators used to break down the plastic products or waste being recycled into regrind, to be transformed into a new product:

- Cumberland 684
A C Series Granulator with a cutting diameter of 18.1” (460mm) and a throat size of 18” by widths of 40” or 56”. These granulators are designed for big jobs in reclamation of bulky blow-moulded parts, pipe, purging, sheet, film, fibres, and other high-torque applications.

- Granulator-800
The capacity of these granulators depends on the type of material, shape, and size. Our granulator is suitable for grinding chairs and other commercial and industrial items. The throat size is 800x750mm, with a grinding capacity of 500 Kg/Hr.

        

The centre is currently capable of processing the following material types, but is also able to grind other types as they become available:

- PP
Polypropylene is one of the most produced and used plastics in the world due to its versatility. The polymer is goes into many end-user goods, such as chairs and flowerpots, or the packaging for food and drinks. The versatility of PP comes from it being low density, flexible, and easily coloured. We are able to grind up any PP into a multitude of colours, dependent on the volume of scrap in each colour, or all colours of scrap material can be combined to produce a mixed PP.

- ABS
Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene is often used for the housing and ergonomic elements of several domestic appliances and household objects – from washing machine doors to waste bins. ABS plastic has a relatively low melting point making it easy to melt down and use in injection moulding. We are able to grind up a variety of ABS colours and grates, such as flame resistant white, standard white, black, and granite. Both flame resistant and standard ABS can also be ground into mixed FR ABS and standard mixed ABS.

- PA
The macromolecule polyamide is more commonly known as its brand name ‘Nylon’. It is a semi crystalline, synthetic thermoplastic, created via step-growth polymerization. It is an extremely popular and versatile material due to its low density, thermal stability, strength and impact properties, which makes its suitable for multiple applications and industries. It is most used on office chairs. We grind up three different types of PA: black glass filled, mixed black/dark grey glass filled, and mixed white/light grey glass filled.

- TPE
Thermoplastic elastomers, or thermoplastic rubbers, are a class of copolymers or a physical mix of polymers (usually a plastic and a rubber) that consists of materials with both thermoplastic and elastomeric properties. The is ground up into a mixed TPE regrind.
 
- PBT + PET
Polybutylene terephthalate is a thermoplastic engineering polymer that is used as an insulator in the electrical and electronic industries. We grind this up into two separate types – black and grey. All regrind can be ground to 8mm, 10mm or 12mm to suit the customer’s need. We can deconstruct sub-assemblies to remove insets, if viable, to recycle the main body of plastic material which may otherwise end up in landfill.

Future plans for the Regrind Centre to expand its recycling capabilities to cover cardboard and plastic bags are also being considered. The material produced would be sold back into the market, reducing our carbon foot print by processing waste that would have otherwise been sent to landfill. We look forward to keeping you updated with the progress made at the Regrind Centre, and aim to provide news on developments as our capabilities expand.