Recycling plastic bottles as a business with calculations. How to recycle plastic bottles in non-industrial conditions and what can be made from them for organizing a business, as well as useful tips What can be done from recycled pet bottles

Recycling plastic bottles as a business at home, do-it-yourself equipment is of interest to many due to the availability of raw materials. You can only use material that has the appropriate symbol. This is an image of a triangle made up of three arrows. Inside the triangle, the marking of the specific plastic from which the product is made is placed. For recycling, only such plastic is selected, which, when heated, does not emit harmful substances to health.

In some cases, when stripes are made from plastic bottles for the subsequent production of wicker products, bottles from any type of plastic can be used.

interesting material for reuse serve bottles made of HDPE, high-density polyethylene. Plastic is made from petroleum products, it is easily chipped, resistant to alkalis and acids. The scope of manufacturing from such material is very extensive. Tanks for storing motor oils, water, bearings, and various handles were created from it.

Do not use plastics with a different label for recycling at home - when melted, they can release harmful substances or simply ruin the composition.

General principles for recycling plastic containers at home

Plastic becomes plastic at a temperature of 180 ° C, so it can be used for recycling at home. Previously, the plastic is crushed, and then the resulting mass is heated. It is sometimes advised to heat the plastic at home, as it is sometimes advised - in the oven, it is impossible to reach the state of such a liquid, it simply becomes plastic, therefore any product can be easily formed from the heated mass of crushed plastic in the appropriate form, but there will be cavities in the craft.

Modern equipment for small business

Russian-language sites traditionally describe the processes of processing plastic bottles on domestic equipment, which requires more than two hundred square meters to accommodate and about six hundred thousand rubles to purchase. Along with this, today there are a lot of equipment, small in size and very cheap in terms of production cost, for processing plastic bottles at home.

Such equipment does not require a lot of space for placement, it is easy to rebuild it to change the products produced, to do it yourself. Naturally, it will not make it possible to earn millions every month, but it will make a start-up for the processing of plastic raw materials accessible to almost everyone and will serve as the foundation for the further development of such a business.

A complete plastic bottle recycling line includes:

shredder;
agglomerator;
extruder.

Such a set of units will ensure the complete processing of plastic bottles.

shredder

This unit is designed for grinding plastic products. The resulting small plates of plastic are called flex. Industrially manufactured devices are quite expensive.

For example, the simplest AMD-200D crusher, which processes about fifty kilograms of feedstock per hour, will cost about one hundred and thirty-five thousand rubles. And to make such a unit with your own hands will not be much work.

Those interested will benefit from drawings:

If conditions permit and it is possible to place a bath for washing the resulting flex, a centrifuge for drying in the room, it can be limited to its production. Today, according to Flagma, such material is sold from thirty-five to forty-nine rubles per kilogram, and bought - from twenty to thirty-five rubles per kilogram.

Agglomerator

This unit is intended for sintering flex. The cost of the cheapest industrial designs is about two hundred thousand rubles. Therefore, it is not surprising that craftsmen make such units on their own. Of course, it is impossible to make such a unit from scratch without milling and turning. However, you can use the drawing and ask friends working at the factory to make the necessary parts.

Many organizers of recycling plastic bottles in garages and other utility rooms outside the attention of government agencies that monitor compliance with sanitary environmental standards use existing electric furnaces as the working chamber of the agglomerator, since the flex begins to sinter at temperatures ranging from 180˚C. Dave Hackens' agglomerators are the most popular.

extruder

This unit is a device for obtaining finished products or granules used for subsequent processing. The screws feed the flakes into the chamber, where they are heated and become plastic, up to liquefaction. Passing through the filter, the plastic is cleaned and, after passing through the extruder, it takes the form of threads. These threads can be used for various products, or cut and sold.

Dave Hakkens offers homemade extruders that are combined with a press and allow you to get any product that fits the shape. In the unit, the flex is heated to an almost liquid state and is fed into the mold by screws under pressure.

What can be made from PET bottles

For people with creative imagination, plastic bottles are an inexhaustible material for inspiration.

You can also make strong ropes from plastic bottles. To do this, you need a "bottle cutter". Craftsmen make this simple device from a blade, a few washers, mounted on a wooden base.

When assembled, the bottle cutter looks like this.

Spools that are wound with threads obtained from PET bottles can also be made from bottle necks. First, cut off the necks of two bottles and the tops of two caps. Cropped caps are fixed on the rod, on which the cut necks are then wound, holes are made in the necks with a red-hot carnation, through which the beginning of the thread is passed and, having tied a knot, fix it.

The resulting tapes can be used not only for the manufacture of ropes, but also to make tubes from them. To do this, a strip cut from a plastic bottle is passed through a hole of the diameter required for the tube and heated, they begin to be pulled through it. The principle of operation is clear from the photo.

It is quite possible that such a mini-business is suitable for someone, requiring only a bottle cutter with coils and premises, such as making brooms and brooms from plastic tapes. How such products are made can be easily understood from the picture.

Perhaps, to many, the bottle ribbon business will seem very small, not worthy of attention. However, in India it is serious business. Several vertically placed bottle cutters are used, the cut strips are wound on reels that rotate from a mechanical drive. One worker sets the bottles on the bottle cutters and ties the resulting strips, the second worker controls the speed of rotation of the coils, on which the strips are wound, from which ropes are subsequently made.

AT recent times in southern countries Tiles made from PET bottles are becoming increasingly popular. The molten flex is mixed with mineral filler (sand fines) and filled into molds through an extruder. In countries former USSR such a business is just beginning, so the field for the activities of craftsmen is quite wide.

Paving slabs, chain-link mesh, greenhouse walls and much, much more are also made from plastic bottles.

But, so that an entrepreneur does not decide to make such recycled materials - success, as in any business, will depend on the literacy of drawing up a business plan. Such a document will not only streamline knowledge, build a system of actions, but can be useful if you need to attract investment money.

Principles of writing a business plan

Like any other business plan for the organization and operation of an enterprise aimed at processing plastic bottles, other plastic products are drawn up in accordance with the requirements for such documents by the considering specialists. This must be taken into account, because the business plan is prepared not so much for oneself, but for those who, on its basis, will allocate the money needed to turn the idea into practice. Financial professionals are the most picky. If they themselves do not know something thoroughly, they will definitely turn to specialists to obtain an assessment of the proposed document. Therefore, the created document should correspond to the accepted standards as much as possible, since, as they say, people are met by clothes.

Before writing, you need to clearly understand for yourself that a business plan, in fact, is just a written explanation of the proposed project, the amounts necessary for its implementation, as well as the optimal implementation timeframe. Such an approach to the matter will immediately clarify what is the main thing in it and what is secondary, what needs to be emphasized, and what should be moved to the background.

Information about the project of the future enterprise is divided into several sections:

Section I Title page. Preamble information about the name of the enterprise, its form of ownership and address is placed here, the name of the proposed project is placed, telephone numbers and addresses are placed Email. The date of preparation of the document is indicated and information is provided on the need to calculate cash costs and profits, which are included in the document or placed in a separate application.
Section II. This copyright section is often referred to as the "Privacy Statement". It sets out data on the authors of the business plan materials and their rights, obligations not to disclose the information received without the author's consent, as well as obligations to return the business plan after reading it if the decision on it is not positive.
Section III. This section is often referred to as the "Summary". This section summarizes the entire business plan and outlines the essence of the project. This section is recommended to be created after writing the entire business plan and arrange the information following the following structure:

project description;
availability of resources;
ways and means of implementation;
the answer to the question - what is the uniqueness of the project;
required investment amount;
projected profit;
ways to return money to investors;
the effectiveness of the proposed project.

Section IV. Objective of the project. This section describes the intended purpose of the proposed business, describes the services or goods supplied to the market, and indicates the benefits that customers will receive. For this, the advantages of the products produced are described in detail. If there is their uniqueness - this moment should be written as carefully and extensively as possible. If the latest technologies are used, it is necessary to indicate how copyrights will be implemented.
Section V Market analysis in the area of the proposed business. Here the results of marketing research on the proposed products are presented, as well as the activities of competitors are analyzed. If, when writing a business plan, there is no uniqueness of the proposed business in a given region, the emphasis is on reducing costs through the use of new technologies, reducing energy costs, personnel, and so on. Be sure to take into account that today there are practically no areas that are no longer covered by business, therefore, having found competitors, you need to justify how the proposed business is more attractive.
Section VI. Position of the created enterprise in the industry. Here the main characteristics of the enterprise are described and, based on their analysis, the place of the planned production or trade in the existing industry is noted. The preferred form of ownership of the enterprise and what costs will have to be incurred to create it are indicated. The section also contains information about:

company address;
the type of premises required, indicating whether it already exists or needs to be purchased, whether it is necessary to make repairs or not;
economic indicators of work;
temporal characteristics of the specifics of production activities.

If the business is planned to start from scratch, the prospective management has or does not have experience in this area. The lack of managerial experience in the proposed area is a very negative characteristic, as a rule, it initiates the refusal of third-party investors.

Section VII. Product description. The section is created after the analysis of the existing market. Based on the analysis, a conclusion is made about the advantages of the proposed product and the competitiveness of the company. This section must contain or be accompanied by product samples or their photos, a description of technical characteristics. If several units of the product are produced, each of them is described in detail. Structurally, the section is divided into several subsections:

the name of the product, as well as its description;
purpose and areas of use;
specifications
competitive advantages;
the presence or absence of copyright;
environmental friendliness of the product or its absence;
quality certificates;
service and operation.

Section VIII. Sales of products. The section contains a marketing plan for the implementation of the manufactured product. Such a plan should include:

models of behavior in the market;
a reasoned explanation of the quantity of the purchased product by customers;
describes the methods used to influence demand;
describes the methodology for calculating prices;
provides information on how to sell;
the legal status of the main consumer is indicated.

Any material on organizing a business includes a governing advice - find a customer. That's what the marketing plan is for. This structural unit is under close scrutiny, so it must be specified in detail:

what criteria for evaluating the product from the point of view of the consumer were studied when writing a business plan;
what place in the supply chain is occupied by the customer to whom the goods are supplied.

This section is based on the characteristics by which the product is evaluated not by the manufacturer, but by the consumer. It is highly desirable to analyze the evaluation of a similar product by consumers of competitors and, on the basis of this information, justify the attractiveness of your own product. This section also includes the logistics concept - how and to whom the goods are delivered, who is responsible for sending them. A strategy for conducting advertising campaigns is given. Prices and sales volumes are indicated by time periods. Payback periods and profitability are calculated.

Section IX. Production plan. The material of the section requires close attention and elaboration, especially in cases of planning to open a company from scratch. The section describes and analyzes in detail the production chains of the product, considers the premises and the equipment located in it, its location, ways of transporting the source material, parts, finished products, and so on. Not only an exhaustive description of production is given, but also the control over its processes, it is indicated what moments will be entrusted to subcontractors, the reasons for their choice are indicated. This section describes all the costs of production, and also calculates the cost of the product, provides an estimate of costs, indicates variable and fixed costs. Information is arranged following a specific structure:

production structure;
technology used;
what premises are needed;
the need for staff;
raw materials;
equipment characteristics;
production capacity;
cost estimate;
selection of subcontractors;
cost analysis.

Section X. Organizational plan. The section describes organizational issues, laid out regulations and describes how they will be implemented.
Section XI. Financial planning. Here you can find information about the required financial investments and their spending. It also sets out the timing of financial movements, the timing of the stages, finances are determined for working capital. It also indicates if there is a need to attract loans and how they will be returned. In this section, the conclusion of the above is an analysis of the effectiveness of the company and its work. Structurally, it looks like this:

received profit;
tax payment structures;
the need for investment;
loan service;
description of the effectiveness of the project

Section XII. Risk analysis. The section contains information about the difficulties that may impede the implementation of the project. This includes difficulties provoked by legislation, weather, competitors, and so on. The more complete the list, indicating ways to solve difficulties, the higher the assessment of the plan as a whole.

The difficulties of doing business include the wrong choice of employees - success does not depend on the degree of acquaintance, but on professionalism.

To assess the degree of risk, the following methods of analysis are used:

statistical method (the basis is the study of named statistics);
analogy method - analysis based on studying the development of similar projects;
expert method, basis of analysis - expert opinion;
modeling - the response to external influence is analyzed.

Also, a description of possible systems for countering risks is carried out, possible guarantees are called - authorities, guarantees for goods, bank guarantees, and so on.

Section XIII. Applications. Documents that are not included in the planning description but are important are collected here, copies of contracts for similar products, data sources, price lists, and so on.

Plastic bottles today are the main problem in most cities of our country. This problem is especially aggravated during major events and in the summer, when containers of carbonated drinks are scattered everywhere on the streets of the city. And, of course, discarded plastic can be seen in places where a large number of vacationers gather: rivers, lakes, specially designated places for recreation.

Few of us think about the fact that plastic is one of the main problems of mankind. Fortunately, you can reduce this environmental problem by recycling plastic bottles. This will not only benefit nature, but will also become a stable and high income for you.

The relevance of this area

Each inhabitant of our country throws out about 300 kilograms of garbage in one year, part of which is plastic containers. Today, plastic bottles are used for packaging juices, mineral water, alcoholic beverages and other beverages.

You might think that plastic packaging does not have much value, unlike, for example, glass containers. This is not entirely true, because plastic is an excellent raw material for the production of flex. In turn, this material is necessary for the manufacture of chemical fibers. Flex in pure form are small whitish flakes. It is obtained mainly from plastic bottles. It serves as a secondary raw material for the production of exactly the same products. That is, it turns out that one bottle can go through almost endless processing. But the main thing that can be obtained from recycled plastic is PET flex.

PET flex is a chemical fiber used to make toothbrush bristles, car wash brushes, packaging materials, film, roof tiles, paving slabs and other similar materials.

The main feature of the business is the ability to make the environment cleaner, which is so important in modern world. By the way, for a plastic bottle to reach the stage of complete decomposition in natural conditions, it takes about 300 years.

To date, in our country, such a business is practically not developed. This gives entrepreneurs scope for the development of this industry and production.

Advantages

Business benefits are as follows:

At the moment, he receives more and more support from the government. The state creates special programs support individual entrepreneurs who conduct their business in the recycling industry. Why this area receives such support is easy to guess - the recycling of plastic containers is a factor that improves ecological situation in our country.
Recycling plastic containers can significantly save the state extra money. The state reduces the costs of measures related to the improvement ecological state nature.
The processing industry can also save a significant part of the funds that were previously spent on transportation, waste sorting, crushing, and so on.

Business financial benefits:

In the long term, waste will remain one of the unsolved problems of mankind. Therefore, we can conclude that there should be no problems with profit.
Such a business is ideal for young individual entrepreneurs, as it does not require special knowledge and skills.
No license required unlike many other projects.
Quickly reaches the predicted profit and pays off.
You don't have to worry that recycling centers will become competitors for you. In most cases, people will throw away the bottles, and not take them to collection points and hand them over for a few cents.

If you have not yet registered an organization, then the easiest do it with online services, which will help you generate all the necessary documents for free: If you already have an organization, and you are thinking about how to facilitate and automate accounting and reporting, then the following online services come to the rescue, which will completely replace an accountant in your enterprise and save a lot money and time. All reporting is generated automatically, signed with an electronic signature and sent automatically online. It is ideal for an individual entrepreneur or LLC on the simplified tax system, UTII, PSN, TS, OSNO.
Everything happens in a few clicks, without queues and stress. Try it and you will be surprised how easy it got!

Process Technology

The processing technology is as follows:

Used polyethylene containers are sorted according to their class (painted and unpainted). Each bottle that has a specific color will be recycled separately.
Next, bottles made of polyvinyl chloride are sorted, followed by processing of products made from this material.
Then it is necessary to manually remove all foreign objects from the bottles: metal, rubber, glass and other similar elements. After that, the plastic is pressed.
Pressed bottles must be loaded onto the production line, where the recycling process will begin. As a result, the output will be a pure flex in the form of whitish flakes.
The processing line consists of several elements, each of which is connected by a conveyor. First, the compressed plastic enters a special rotary machine, where it is separated from labels and caps. After that, it goes to the crusher, where it is subsequently finely crushed.
Next, the crushed material will be transferred by means of a screw conveyor, which is equipped with an Archimedean screw, to a special steam boiler. In it, under the influence of hot liquid, foreign objects that were not removed using a rotary machine will be removed.
After the material has been cleaned from the remaining foreign objects in the boiler, it moves to the polishing machine, after which it goes to a special machine for rinsing. Once a plastic has been wet-treated, it can be considered recycled. Recycled plastic (flex) from the recycling line is sent to a special compartment, where it must dry completely.

What equipment will you need

For the processing of bottles, you will need to purchase specialized equipment. There is currently a wide variety on the market necessary equipment both domestic and imported. If you are planning a full-fledged processing line, then in this case you will have to spend about $150,000.

You can also not resort to a full processing line, but purchase a mini-factory. Such a plant is very mobile, because the processing line reaches only 6 meters in length. It will be a good option if you open a production facility outside the city or plan to travel around the region selling raw materials for processing.

Despite all the advantages, the mini-factory has disadvantages, one of which is its high cost. It can be in the order of $200,000.

For example, one of these plants is produced in Sweden PET Mobile 250. Its cost as of 2015 is around $180,000. It is completely mounted in a container, which allows it to work without a workshop.

Where to get raw materials

There are practically no problems in the field of processing plastic bottles with raw materials. In every city of our country, thousands of the right bottles, they remain after mass celebrations in large numbers. Therefore, the most appropriate solution would be the organization of a reception point. On average, for one kilogram of plastic they pay at the level of 0.1-0.2 dollars. Also, in agreement with the city administration, you can put special bins where people will throw away used bottles.

In addition, you can conclude a contract for the supply of raw materials from landfills, since it is there that there is more of it. Along with this, you will have to decide on its delivery to the processing shop. You can also use advertising to get additional sources.

Since your business is in the field of processing, it is recommended to conclude an agreement for the receipt of raw materials with collection points. The opening of your points can be postponed until the moment when the activity begins to pay off.

In our country, business has not yet become widespread. Therefore, you need to put in some effort to secure a profit. If the organization is at the right level, the result will be good.

Where to sell products, profit calculation

After processing, the bottles find their new life, they are used to make disposable tableware, packing tape, brushes and other goods. Finding partners is not difficult. The price for one ton of processed goods will be not less than 30,000 rubles sometimes it can be even higher.

If the finished raw material is around 50 tons, then you will receive at least 40 tons of flex per month. Thus, processing will bring monthly income of at least 400,000 rubles. This amount also includes the payment of taxes, rent of premises, utilities, wages of employees of the plant.

General costs

A complete processing line costs around $150,000. The productivity of such a line is one ton of raw materials per hour of operation. The output is about 70-80 percent pure flex. It must be taken into account that the remaining 20-30 percent are materials unsuitable for production. The power of the consumed electricity is about 70-80 kilowatts per hour.

The factory staff should be about 8-10 people. At least 5-6 people should be involved in processing and sorting bottles. Processing consists of washing and rejecting the material. One worker can process about 120 kilograms of plastic. The salary of one employee on average is 20-25 thousand rubles.

The cost of one ton of material is about 100 dollars (about 5 thousand rubles).

Thus, on initial stage you will have to invest a lot of capital, but since the business is quite profitable, it will be able to reach a stable profit within 1-1.5 years.

Video about the processing of raw materials

The video clearly shows technological process line work:

Polyethylene terephthalate is commonly referred to simply as PET.

It is one of the most versatile and inexpensive materials for the production of convenient packaging.

Usually polyethylene drink bottles.

On average, one person produces more than 360 kg of municipal solid waste per year.

A significant part of them are plastic bottles, the decomposition of which in vivo will drag on for hundreds of years.

Dumps grow all around major cities. The developed countries have long been engaged in the processing and disposal of their waste. Gradually, the problem of garbage is beginning to be solved in Russia. It turned out that the recycling of plastic bottles can bring good income.

Today there are two main technologies. Most often obtained from plastic bottles PET granules, which are reused in the production of various polymer products. The technology of turning old bottles is revolutionary into automotive fuel. Domestic installation gives a product yield of about 900 grams per 1 kg of raw materials.

True, such equipment costs about 12-17 million rubles and is not available for small businesses. But the production of secondary PET is not difficult to organize. How does this happen and where to apply the resulting recyclables? Let's consider the main stages.

Collection of raw materials

The collection of raw materials is the easiest to organize, but it costs minimum cash investment.

The municipality is likely to meet such initiatives.

The easiest ways:

create reception points;
establish cooperation with landfills;
set on the streets bottle bins;
put machines for automated assembly of raw materials at the population.

The bottles are very light but bulky, so significant transport costs may be required at this stage. They can be reduced by purchasing a small press. This will significantly reduce the volume of primary raw materials and reduce the cost of its transportation.

If possible, bottles are best immediately collect without caps and rings because they are made from a different type of plastic, PVC, which must be recycled separately.

Of course, they can be removed at subsequent stages of processing, but then it will not be so easy to compress them, you will need a special press with spikes.

As an option, you can purchase a PET bottle piercer (perforator) as a separate unit.

Sorting

Not all plastic is the same, so the assembled raw materials need to be sorted. Bottles of different colors are collected separately:

colorless,
green,
blue,
brown.

Less suitable for this bottle recycling:

of red color,
from under the oil
from dairy products
packaging from household chemicals.

This processing step is very important because it greatly affects the quality of the final product.

It is important to select only PET type plastic to the exclusion of all other species.

There are special types of equipment that allow do this sorting automatically, but if there is cheap labor, this can be done manually.

cleaning

Sorted bottles must be thoroughly washed from labels, content residues, dust, dirt, glue. Rinsing is simple hot water with caustic soda. Corks are unscrewed or cut off from bottles, if this has not been done before.

For a better wash from the inside bottles need to be crushed.

Splitting up

Well-washed PET is converted in special crushers into flex- multi-colored flakes 12-20 mm in size.

There are production lines combine washing and crushing which improves the quality of the finished product.

At the same stage, you can automatically sort the material by color, if this has not been done before.

Color sorting of PET is very important because prices for plastic of different colors are different. Brown flakes are the highest quality, but the cheapest, as they cannot be repainted. Their purchase price is approximately $600 per ton. Next comes the green and blue flex. Transparent is the most expensive, up to $800 per ton.

After washing, the flex is thoroughly dried in a centrifuge and dryer.

Unloading and packaging

Flex is an intermediate product in the PET bottle recycling line, although many sell it already as a finished product.

Clean and dry flakes are unloaded from the hopper of the drying chamber and packed in big bags or plastic bags, usually 30 kg each.

Ready-made flex can already be sold to manufacturers, or you can still work on it and get a more expensive product - granules.

Agglomeration

This is the flex sintering process. It is crushed by rotating knives at a temperature of 100 degrees, small lumps of 2-15 mm are obtained. These lumps are sent to the final operation - granulation.

Granulation

The crushed mass turns into granules of the same size and weight. Next mix:

heats up to 280 degrees
stretched into fibers
cut into uniform granules.

At this stage, you can use extruder.
In this case the mixture is:

melts down
mixed up
stretched into fibers.

Received fibers:

cut into pieces of the required length,
chilled in cold water.

From such material can be produced:

sewer pipes,
sheath for electrical wires,
grid
and much more.

Granular plastic is already finished raw material for packaging manufacturers and a wide range products - from basins to clothes.

Demand in the market

Recycled PET granulate is in high demand in production:

preforms for plastic bottles;
dense film;
tying twine;
polyester for the textile industry;
tiles;
euro pallets;
paving slabs;
abrasive wheels;
components for the automotive industry (engine covers, panels, bumpers, doors) and much more.

Recycling plastic bottles can be very profitable if the process is properly organized. Raw materials are cheap and available, but the final product widely demanded.

The same material can be recycled more than once.

prospects

In Russia, such production is still poorly developed, which means that competition is minimal. But in many countries, plastic is no longer found in landfills. This recycling allows:

limit oil consumption,
reduce pollution environment,
lower prices for PET products.

The time is not far off when there will be a serious struggle for access to landfills.

In contact with

In the article we will talk about such a type of business as the processing of plastic containers. Consider the technological process of processing PET containers, the cost of the necessary equipment and the markets for finished raw materials. We will also find out whether it is profitable to engage in plastic recycling and how much it will cost to organize such a production.

Relevance of the problem

According to statistics, a person throws out about 300 kilograms of garbage annually, about 1/3 of which is plastic bottles. Used PET containers are no less valuable than, for example, waste paper or glass bottles. When processing pet waste, a material is obtained from which flex is subsequently made (in its pure form, it looks more like plastic flakes). Again, containers are made from flex.

It turns out that PET bottle recycling is non-waste production, flex is made of plastic and vice versa. Moreover, this idea fully justifies itself in terms of environmental protection, because it takes at least 300 years for the polymer to completely decompose.

The idea of starting a PET bottle recycling business can bring good profits b, but only on condition that the business plan is drawn up correctly, and you have the necessary amount of money for this - after all, organizing such an enterprise is not cheap.

The main points can be considered the search for the appropriate premises, the adjustment of the supply of raw materials and the sales market. Such a business is not only profitable, but also a very useful occupation. In addition, such production in the CIS countries is poorly developed, so you will not have much competition.

The main stages of plastic bottle recycling technology

Consider the stages of the recycling process for PET bottles:

First stage: collection and sorting of bottles. Actually, there is nothing complicated here, we will consider this issue in more detail a little later. We only note that at this stage of preparation we must establish an uninterrupted supply of raw materials and their further sorting;
Second stage: crushing. For this stage, you will need a special crushing plant. Sorted bottles are placed in it, crushing takes place and flakes are obtained at the output, the size of which can be from 0.8 to 1.2 centimeters (depending on the size of the grate in the installation). Actually, this is pet flex. Then the crushed mass is thoroughly washed with caustic soda. After that, it is placed in a centrifuge, which separates pieces of paper labels from the main mass in the form of sludge. Polypropylene labels, rings and caps are removed by flotation. Next, the flex is washed again, this time with ordinary clean water, and placed in a tubular dryer, in which, under the action of a stream of hot air, drying will occur. The final stage is the unloading and packaging of the flex. In this form, the material can already be sold, or you can resort to a slightly different technology;
The third stage of technology: agglomeration. The process procedure is extremely simple: the crushed mass is exposed to high temperature, as a result of which it simply sinters and turns into small lumps. These lumps (agglomerate) can also be sold as raw materials, or they can be “improved”, that is, granulated;
Fourth stage: granulation. Granulation is the further processing of the material. It will significantly increase the purity and quality of raw materials, which will positively affect its cost. The granulation process is also called briquetting, and its essence is to turn the crushed mass into pieces correct form, peculiar granules, identical in weight and size. This happens as follows: under slight pressure, the particles are compacted, since there are voids between them. Further, the particles themselves are deformed, they adhere at the molecular level. At the end of the procedure, the pressure rises, turning the elastic modification into a plastic one. As a result, strong identical granules are obtained.

Organization of a plant for the processing of plastic bottles

Despite the high cost of equipment (only one recycling line will cost about 130 thousand dollars), it is quite possible to open such a “garbage” business, having a specific project and a business plan drawn up on its basis.

First of all, you need to register a company. Note that its activities will be considered trade in small products, so that it can be started even before the IP opens. After that, you need to take care of the appropriate premises and equipment. But let's go in order. First, you need to obtain a license for this kind of activity, as well as coordinate everything with the fire organization and SES. To obtain all the documents you will need about 200 thousand rubles.

When all the "paper" matters are settled, you can start looking for premises for a plastic bottle recycling line. The area of such a room must be at least 3,000 square meters. m. It is desirable that it be outside the city.

It can be an abandoned warehouse or a factory, the main thing is that all the necessary communications are connected to it. The room must be divided into three parts (this should be remembered when drawing up a business plan):

for raw materials;
for finished products;
directly for production.

Price and complete set of equipment for the processing of plastic bottles

Now about the equipment. The minimum price of equipment for the processing of PET bottles is 4 million + 400 thousand for the installation. Mandatory elements production shop are:

agglomerator (≈ 222 thousand);
granulation line (≈ 1-2 million);
rotary grinder (≈1.5 million).

It should be noted that this is only minimum set required to set up a line for the processing of plastic bottles. Below is a list of components of the finished line:

bath for soaking flex;
dynamic centrifuge designed for tough cleaning of plastic from labels, dirt residues, etc.;
hot bath. Water heated to a temperature of 60 degrees, in combination with sodium phosphate, provides the most effective cleaning of the flex;
a dispenser that feeds flakes in equal portions into pipes with hot air;
friction auger that accumulates flex and transports it to the soaking bath. It, in turn, consists of: an inclined auger, an accumulation hopper, a flush system;
the rinsing bath is used to wash off the detergent residue from the flakes.

Of course, you can get domestic technology, it will be much cheaper (about 1 million), but in this case you should not be surprised at low power or breakdowns. Although there is a third option - this is the purchase of used equipment, which can save you up to 50% of the cost.

Among the manufacturers of equipment for recycling plastics, the leading positions are occupied by Herbold, Shredder, Sorema, RIKO RT, Redoma and others. Note that most of the equipment used today is made in China.

As for domestic manufacturers, the quality of their products is much inferior even to Chinese, one of the few exceptions is the company "Machines and Technologies".

Video: "Plastic Bottle Recycling Line"

Raw material

The organization of the supply of raw materials is perhaps the easiest stage of production. Raw material in our case this is PET containers, which are in abundance in every city. There are several ways to extract raw materials:

install special garbage containers around the city for sorting, several new ones instead of one old one. They need to be signed "Glass", "Plastic", etc. so that people who throw out garbage can sort it out on their own. In addition, the city authorities will be on your side - they are always happy with new garbage bins;
send people directly to the MSW landfill so that they sort the garbage there, as they say, “on the spot”. This method is less expensive, since you do not have to spend money on buying additional containers;
organize collection points for PET bottles. Today they pay about 10-20 cents per kilogram, a small waste, especially compared to buying bins or sending people to the city dump. Note that we will reuse and recycle plastic bottles, and not accept them, so it is better not to establish your own collection points, but to conclude an agreement with existing ones. It is possible to conclude an appropriate agreement with the waste collection services of the city regarding the regular supply of raw materials. At the same time, the cost of one ton is approximately $100;
Another option is a deposit scheme. It consists in organizing the return of used containers back to the points of sale for a fee.

Business profitability and payback

This point of the business plan should be the key when planning production. First of all, let's define the staff. We need at least:

4-5 workers;
accountant;
a couple of people to control the production process;
manager.

It turns out that the average waste of a start-up enterprise for the processing of PET containers will be:

4 million rubles for the purchase and installation of all necessary equipment;
400 thousand rubles to pay for utilities and rent of premises;
other expenses - 200 thousand rubles.

It turns out approximately 4.6 million, plus wage employees - another 270 thousand rubles.

Recycled material can be sold at 2.9 million per ton (depending on the color of the plastic). If the company will work 23 days a month for 8 hours, while producing a ton of finished products per day, then the monthly profit in "pure" form will be 300-350 thousand rubles.

If you follow the developed business plan, then the costs of opening production will pay off in a year and a half, but on condition that the production itself is well organized. In addition to the fact that the recycling of PET containers can become quite profitable, it should also bring moral pleasure from the fact that a person contributes to the improvement environmental situation on the planet.

Recycling plastic bottles is extremely actual topic for our country. The number of produced PET containers is constantly increasing, and new enterprises for its disposal are practically not opened, despite the fact that recycled bottles are a valuable secondary raw material. As a result, huge dumps of plastic waste are formed.

Plastic bottles are plastic containers for storing various kinds of liquids.(milk, beer, vegetable oils, motor oils, medicines, water, soft drinks, etc.). Plastic bottles have a number of advantages over glass containers. These advantages determine such a wide distribution of plastic containers in the modern world.

In the manufacture of plastic bottles, various raw materials are used, depending on the type of which a certain marking is applied to the surface of the container. So, plastic containers are made from:

HDPE, LDPE - high and low density polyethylene, respectively;
PET - polyethylene terephthalate;
PVC - polyvinyl chloride;
PP - polypropylene;
PS - polystyrene;
other polymers.

Since polyethylene terephthalate is most often used in the production of beverage containers, further in the article we will mainly consider PET waste and the processing of PET bottles.

In Russia, a technical condition has been developed, according to which all PET waste is sorted into several main groups by color: dark-colored waste (brown, black), blue and green waste, transparent and uncolored waste (yellow, cream, etc. colors) .

Note! In our country, several hundred thousand tons of PET waste are generated annually, of which plastic bottles account for the most part.

Used PET bottles belong to the 5th hazard class of waste (non-hazardous), but this does not mean that such containers can be thrown into landfills in large quantities without harm to the environment. About the impact on the nature of plastic waste below in this article.

Harm to the environment

The main environmental damage caused by plastic bottles is that plastic products do not rot (biologically decompose), they can lie in landfills for 100, 500 or even more years. At the same time, due to many other factors (low production cost, lightness of the material, etc.), a huge number of plastic bottles are produced today. After use, the containers become waste, the landfills with which occupy such large areas that their contours are visible even from space.

In the modern world, scientists are trying to solve this difficult environmental problem by obtaining new biodegradable packaging. However, the introduction of the latest technologies in plastic bottle factories is, unfortunately, beyond the reach of most enterprises.

PET bottle recycling process

Disposal of plastic bottles involves recycling them for reuse or the manufacture of other materials. The technology is not complex.

Recycling of PET bottles is carried out in stages. Let's consider each of the stages in more detail.

Collection and sorting of bottles. Probably the easiest step in the whole process. The collection of raw materials is carried out by installing separate tanks for plastic bottles in the yards and opening plastic collection points around the city. They also collect the necessary containers at landfills.
Bottle crushing. At this stage, such a processing device as a crusher is needed. The collected sorted bottles are placed in this plant, where they are crushed, resulting in flakes of a certain size, called PET flex. The resulting mass is washed, while using caustic soda. Then carry out the separation from the washed mass of paper stickers in a special centrifuge. Polypropylene labels and lids are removed by flotation. After that, the flex is re-washed with plain water and transferred to a dryer, in which streams of heated air masses drying is carried out. The dried flex is unloaded and packaged. Such material may be sold. However, the process after the grinding stage can also follow a different technology.
Agglomeration. Crushed bottles are affected high temperatures, thus forming small sintered lumps. Such agglomerates, like flex, can be put up for sale, but further processing can also be done - granulation.
Granulation. This stage is needed to improve the purity and quality of raw materials, and, consequently, to increase its cost. This stage is also called "briquetting". The crushed mass is converted into pieces with certain form, into granules having the same mass and size. To do this, under the influence of a small pressure, the pieces are compacted, then the parts themselves are deformed and their adhesion at the molecular level. At the final stage of the process, pressure is increased. As a result, granules with high strength are obtained.

What is made from PET bottles after processing? The products obtained at different stages of the process are sold to factories for subsequent use as recycled materials in the production of polyester fibers (clothes, pillows are made from it), polyester sheets, bandage tape or new PET bottles.

Plastic bottle caps are also recycled at container recycling facilities. The resulting recyclable materials are used in the production of stationery (caps for pens, files), disposable tableware, etc.

Recycling PET bottles as a business idea

How can a PET bottle recycling plant (or mini-factory) be set up if the business plan is well developed. What does it take to build a plastic bottle recycling business? Let's analyze the main points.

First, the entrepreneur must register his organization. Necessary condition running an enterprise is to obtain a license. And, of course, you need to coordinate activities with the fire services and SES.

Next, you will need to find a suitable room, it is better that it is located outside the city. It will need to be divided into three zones, in which the storage of raw materials and the finished product, as well as the production itself, will be carried out.

Necessary equipment for recycling PET bottles

After the premises are found, you need to start purchasing equipment for processing. An entrepreneur for his enterprise can choose either Russian or foreign devices. Imported equipment will require significantly higher costs than domestic, but its quality will be better.

A complete PET bottle recycling line includes several main machines that are connected with conveyors. The line consists of:

crushers;
agglomerator;
granulator.

The cost of the devices varies, the equipment of the line, its capacity and degree of automation have a significant impact on the price. The average price for a line for the complete processing of PET containers with good performance from different suppliers is approximately 3 million rubles. It is clear that for many entrepreneurs such a price will be unaffordable, even taking into account possible government subsidies. Therefore, when purchasing equipment, you can resort to some tricks. For example, it can be more profitable to buy individual devices, and then assemble a complete line from them yourself. In addition, you can buy used devices, which also allow you to save a lot.

When opening a business, you can first purchase equipment only for the manufacture of flex, and after the "promotion" you can already buy additional devices (agglomerator and granulator) that make up the line for the complete processing of bottles. For the production of flex, equipment will be required with a cost of approximately 500 thousand rubles. It includes the following main devices:

crusher;
baths for washing plastic mass;
centrifuge.

After purchasing all the necessary equipment, you need to collect raw materials (this was discussed above in the article). Of course, in order to launch the enterprise, it will be necessary to find employees, the number of which at the initial stage may be relatively small. It will also be necessary to find wholesale buyers of manufactured materials.

If everything was done correctly when opening an enterprise, then this kind of business will quickly pay off and after a short period of time it will already bring good profits.

A clear example of a successful business experience is the experience Western countries in the recycling of plastic bottles. This can be confirmed by the fact that most of the plastic waste in these countries is now being recycled to create new products and materials.

How to open a PET bottle recycling business in our country and what needs to be done to make the business successful is described in the next video.

Recycling PET bottles at home

Remelting plastic bottles to create new products is highly discouraged, as this may be unsafe for health.

Of course, it is impossible to dispose of bottles at home using the technology described above. PET bottles accumulated at home can be reused, while inventing an original use for such containers. For example, you can build bird feeders from them or make pots for flowers and seedlings, etc.

Is it possible to organize a processing business at home? The question is ambiguous. However, the world has positive example how a man literally assembled a plastic recycling machine in his garage. The project, called Precious Plastic, was developed by Dutch resident Dave Hakkens. His self-assembled machine includes: shredder, extruder, injector and compressor. All devices are small and therefore mobile. The use of such a machine allows you to create new plastic products.

Hackens devices are not for sale. However, on the Internet, he exposes all his drawings for free, according to which any person with certain engineering knowledge can himself make a similar installation for the processing of bottles and other plastic products. Having built such an installation, it will be possible to create home business selling self-made plastic products.

Disposal of plastic bottles at home is still a complicated process, and if you do not want to build a business on this, then it is better to take the accumulated pile of plastic bottles to special collection points.

Where to take waste PET bottles

You can hand over the waste of PET bottles to collection points organized by licensed companies that collect and recycle recyclables. Organizations can also install waste bins designed specifically for PET bottles. Such companies either only accept waste for the purpose of selling it to factories as recyclable materials, or they themselves process it. Also, you can dispose of large batches of plastic waste by directly contacting the company and drawing up a recycling agreement with it.

In some cases, upon acceptance, special requirements for containers may be put forward, for example:

Bottles must be clean and dry.
Containers must be free of paint and any debris.
These should not be vegetable oil bottles.

Containers sorted by color are more expensive.

Different companies offer different amounts of money for raw materials. Thus, one of the Moscow companies purchases PET bottles for 18 thousand rubles. for 1 ton.

Waste disposal is a rational solution for many environmental issues that exist all over the world. Recycling plastic bottles is not only beneficial from an environmental point of view, but also financially beneficial. A properly built packaging recycling business will be successful in Russia, since we have almost no competition in this industry.