Stadler designs and installs light packaging sorting plant for PreZero Recycling

Stadler, a Germany-based company specializing in automated sorting systems and machines for the recycling industry, has announced it designed and installed a light packaging sorting facility in Eitting, Germany, for PreZero Recycling, Neckarsulm, Germany. The facility is part of PreZero’s goal of reducing the consumption of natural resources and for 100 percent reusable material.   

According to a news release from Stadler, the facility is a light packaging sorting plant capable of sorting the packaging fractions by color, including black plastics. The facility is expected to produce 120,000 tons of throughput annually.  

The sorting plant will receive light packaging made of various materials, including tin foil, ferrous and nonferrous scrap, aluminum and film polyethylene plastics. The process results in 18 different output fractions separated by material and color.   

“This was the largest project to date for us, with 272 conveyor belts installed filling the hall on five levels and supported by over 1,000 tons of steelwork,” says Wolfgang Köser, joint project manager for Stadler. “The advanced equipment included 38 near-infrared optical sorters, our ballistic separators and robot-assisted secondary sorting.”   

The company says the continuous level concept facilitates the operation of the system and ensures good accessibility to all the equipment for cleaning and maintenance. The facility's design means staff members don't have to constantly work the baler. In addition, the desired bale weights and lengths can be achieved according to the customer's specifications through the weighing cells under all bunkers. Trucks can also now be loaded optimally for the best possible transport result.  

The project was completed in 12 months from signing the contract to launch. The startup of the sorting plant was on schedule in early January 2022, and the ramp-up phase is running to plan, says Stefan Kaiser, head of engineering sorting systems international recycling for PreZero Deutschland.  

“For us, this is the first step in the transition from a waste plant to a production plant of industrial standards,” Kaiser says.  

For Stadler, the project provided a further opportunity to develop innovative solutions to serve the recycling industry with high-quality recyclates, supporting the transition to an efficient circular economy.