What Is a Plastic Shredder?

A plastic shredder is a size-reduction machine that breaks plastic waste into smaller particles for recycling or reuse. In injection molding and extrusion facilities, it sits beside the production machine to process defective parts, sprues, runners, and nozzle purge material immediately. The shredded output — clean, dry, and uniform — blends back with virgin resin at a controlled ratio and returns to production. This closed-loop approach cuts raw material costs and reduces waste disposal.

How It Works

The core mechanism is shear and tear action between two relatively rotating cutters. Material fed into the chamber is gripped, cut, and fractured into small fragments. The function is straightforward: reduce bulky or irregular plastic waste to uniform particle size that feeds easily into washing lines, pelletizers, or directly back into molding machines.

What It Processes

Wanrooe plastic shredders handle a broad range of solid plastic waste:

Rigid containers — Mineral water bottles, PET bottles, motor oil bottles, fuel containers, plastic drums and barrels

Film and sheet — PE film, agricultural film, stretch wrap, laminated packaging

Bulk packaging — PP woven bags, jumbo bags, FIBC ton bags

Production scrap — Nozzle purges, sprues, runners, rejected molded parts

Rubber and elastomer — Rubber heads, TPE scrap, gasket material
The design emphasis is volume reduction and controlled particle size — both critical for efficient downstream recycling and pelletizing.

Choosing the Right Plastic Shredder

Key selection factors: material type (rigid, film, or mixed), input form (loose, baled, or on-line production scrap), required output size, and hourly capacity. Contact us with these details and we will recommend the appropriate rotor design, blade configuration, and screen size for your application.

FAQ: Plastic Shredders

What is the difference between a shredder and a granulator?

A shredder handles larger, bulkier material with lower speed and higher torque, producing 20–100 mm fragments. A granulator processes smaller, more uniform feed at higher speed, yielding 5–20 mm chips. Many operations use both: shredder first, granulator second.

Can I shred film in a standard plastic shredder?

Film requires specific design features — larger feed opening, anti-wrap rotor geometry, or a ram feeder — because its low bulk density causes bridging. Specify film as your primary material when selecting equipment.

How clean must material be before shredding?

For in-house recycling of production scrap, minimal cleaning is needed. For post-consumer bottles or containers, pre-washing or label removal may be required to protect blades and improve output quality. Shredder selection should account for expected contamination level.