Revolutionizing e-plastics processing

Amidst dwindling legal export markets for plastics generated from mixed electronics waste in the USA, CompuCycle has developed a shredding, cleaning and sorting system to produce materials that can be recycled domestically.

“Electronics has evolved. Plastics has become a concern… Plastics is becoming what some people may consider a focused material,” says Clive Hess, President of CompuCycle.

With over 50 million tons of electronic waste generated annually worldwide, 20% of which contains plastic materials, the disposal and recycling of e-plastics have emerged as a critical issue. These complex materials often contain hazardous substances such as brominated flame retardants and heavy metals. This not only makes them a challenge to recycle but also pose a significant risk to both the environment and health if not managed properly. Due to this, most e-waste and e-plastics are ending up in landfills across the world.

CompuCycle is an IT asset management company based out of Houston, Texas who has been at the forefront of safe and secure e-scrap recycling. Their electronics recycling plant features two four-shaft shredders, a Quad^® Q100 and a Quad^® Q70 made by SSI Shredding Systems, Inc. This processing line breaks down end-of-life IT electronics (e-waste) into its individual components.

“That's why I truly do call it the wow machine, because to see it from going up one conveyor belt and then turning into this next piece of material of really raw components of that steel, plastic, aluminum, copper and boards, it's just amazing,” says Kelly Adels Hess, CEO of CompuCycle.

The success of that initial system created more opportunity to dive even further into the art of recycling and to tackle the growing e-plastics problem.

“CompuCycle wanted a shredder versatile enough to handle bulk-fed loads of e-plastics originating from any processor out there. Our SR500 Uni-Shear^® is able to hold up to 4 yd³ of volume and make small, well liberated output size so it’s perfectly suited for this task.” says Dave Fleming, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at SSI Shredding Systems, Inc.

In November of 2023 CompuCycle went live with their e-plastics processing plant. This innovative and creative system which features a single-shaft Uni-Shear^® SR500 and sink-float tanks can separate e-plastics down further into its base components such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, and ABS plastics.

Plastics Recycling: A Sustainable Solution with CompuCycle and SSI to learn more.

“With being able to clean these plastics and to be able to separate these plastics, we can go now directly to OEMs,” says Hess.

As awareness grows about the importance of recycling, the demand for innovative solutions is on the rise. SSI Shredding Systems, Inc. and CompuCycle are leading the charge, showing the world what's possible when passion meets purpose.

To hear more about the role that SSI Shredding Systems, Inc. plays in CompuCycle’s systems, watch the complete story featuring both e-waste and e-plastics recycling plants.