Walk any recycling yard from Rotterdam to Riverside and you’ll see the same choke-point: mixed plastic that looks like confetti. Turning that mess into clean PET, PVC, PP, and film is the job of used plastic sorting equipment. Pick right and you print margin; pick wrong and you own an expensive conveyor. Below is the field-tested intel buyers actually need.
1. Four Proven Separation Methods
| Method | Physics | Typical Feed | Clean-up Goal |
|---|---|---|---|
| NIR Spectroscopy | Polymer absorbs 1100–2400 nm | 1–6 t/h flakes | PET vs PVC vs PP |
| RGB Color Sorting | Camera + air valves | 0.5–3 t/h flakes | Clear vs colored |
| Sink-Float Tank | Density in water | 0.5–4 t/h rigid | HDPE vs PP vs ABS |
| Tribo-Electrostatic | Surface charge | 0.1–1 t/h film | PVC vs PE |
Most plants run NIR first, sink-float second, then a polish step—often color—for 99 % purity.
2. 2024 Price Snapshot (FOB Europe)
| Condition | NIR Belt | Color 2-chute | Float Tank | Tribo Unit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New | $48k–190k | $22k–55k | $12k–40k | $38k–110k |
| Used 3-5 yr | $26k–95k | $11k–28k | $6k–20k | Rare |
Add 8 % freight, 5 % import duty, $1.8k commissioning.
3. Hidden Costs Nobody Prints
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Oil-free compressor: 1.2 m³/min @ 6 bar → $4k if missing.
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Cal disks: $180 each, two sets per year.
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Platform railing: OSHA 42″ → $1.5k.
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Training days: 3 techs × 2 days → $2.2k travel.
Budget 15 % on top of sticker for full readiness.
4. ROI Tables from Real Plants
| Site | Machine | Cost | Premium | Tonnage/yr | Payback |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas PET | 2 t/h NIR | $72k | $110/t | 2,000 t | 11 mo |
| Poland PE | Color 1.5 t/h | $24k | €75/t | 1,300 t | 7 wk |
| Spain PVC | Tribo add-on | $38k | €190/t | 800 t | 14 mo |
Rule of thumb: above 800 t/yr, NIR usually breaks even <18 mo.
5. Insider Spec Sheet Checklist
✅ Valve MTBF ≥30 million cycles
✅ Camera pixels ≥256 for NIR lane
✅ PLC protocol open (Modbus/TCP)
✅ Local tech radius <500 km
✅ Camera pixels ≥256 for NIR lane
✅ PLC protocol open (Modbus/TCP)
✅ Local tech radius <500 km
Ask for 3-hour FAT on your exact flake; anything less is a gamble.
6. Used vs New—Hard Truths
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NIR sensors age slowly—7 yr-old units still hit 97 % accuracy if lamps & belts swapped.
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Color sorters lose 2–3 % accuracy per year after year 4.
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Float tanks are basically stainless tubs—age is irrelevant if welds pass dye-pen.
Red flag: seller who won’t power up the machine during video call.
7. Upcoming Tech Worth Watching
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AI retrofit kits: $8k bolt-on GPU + camera upgrades older color sorters to PVC-grade 99 %.
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Lease-to-own: 0 % interest for 24 mo on >$100k lines—treat as OpEx.
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Cloud dashboards: Remote purity logs beat clipboard audits.
8. Quick Buy/No-Buy Matrix
| Criteria | Buy | Walk Away |
|---|---|---|
| Missing screen test data | ❌ | ✅ |
| Proprietary software lock | ❌ | ✅ |
| Local spares stock <48 h | ✅ | ❌ |
| Valve log <20 M cycles | ❌ | ✅ |
Bottom Line
Used plastic sorting equipment is not mysterious—sensors, air valves, and a belt. Match the sensor to your polymer mix, budget 15 % for hidden costs, and always run a live test. Do that and the mountain of plastic becomes a revenue stream instead of a storage headache.
Comments(15)
This is way more detailed than I expected for plastic sorting equipment. Super useful for anyone in the recycling biz.
Who knew plastic recycling could be this complex? The ROI tables are eye-opening though 👍
Would love to see more details on the AI retrofit kits. How do they compare to new NIR systems performance-wise?
That ‘red flag’ tip about sellers who won’t power up the machine is gold. Been burned by that before!
The payback periods seem optimistic… anyone here actually getting those numbers in real operations?
Finally someone talks about the hidden costs! Training and prep always get overlooked in equipment purchases.
Great breakdown, but I’m more concerned about the ‘upcoming tech’ section – sounds like current equipment might be obsolete soon?
We’ve been running a 5-year-old NIR unit – can confirm it still works fine with proper maintenance.
“The mountain of plastic becomes a revenue stream” – love that line. More recycling operations need to think this way.
Where’s the discussion about maintenance contracts? That’s where most of our ongoing costs come from.
RGB color sorting seems outdated compared to NIR, yet the price difference is huge. Tough choice for small operators.
Lol that sink-float tank description – ‘basically stainless tubs’. Underrated truth right there!
Cloud dashboards over clipboard audits – about damn time our industry got with the program!
Surprised there’s no mention of Asian manufacturers. Most of our equipment comes from China these days.
Honestly expected this to be boring but the ‘hidden costs’ section saved me like $15k already 😅