In-house film scrap
Soft and already clean. Skip washing altogether and pelletize directly.
Shredder, then pelletizer
Plastic shredder machine Plastic pelletizing machine
Start here
What a Plastic Recycling Machine Line Actually Is
A plastic recycling machine is not one standalone unit. It is a connected line for size reduction, washing, drying and pelletizing, and which sections you need is decided by your material, how contaminated it is and the output you intend to sell.
There is no general-purpose recycling machine, and that is the single most expensive misunderstanding in this industry. Baled PET bottles arrive compressed and must be opened before anything can touch them. Post-consumer agricultural film arrives carrying soil and water, so washing does the real work and the dryer decides whether pelletizing will run at all. Rigid HDPE drums are clean by comparison but too large for a granulator inlet, so the problem is torque at the front of the line rather than cleaning.
That is why a quotation cannot start from a model number. The same nominal capacity means one thing on clean factory scrap and something else on dirty post-consumer waste, and plastic recycling equipment sized for the first will bottleneck on the second. Everything below is arranged so you can narrow the line down before asking for a price.
Find your material on the map
Two Questions Decide the Whole Line
How soft your plastic is decides how it must be cut. How dirty it is decides how many washing stages it needs. Every waste stream we quote sits somewhere on these two axes, and its position is the line.
Dirty
Clean
Contamination
Soft film
Rigid parts
Material body
01
Film scrap
02
Dirty film
03
Woven bags
04
PET bales
05
HDPE rigids
PE and PP film, post-consumer
Soft and heavily soiled. Friction washing is compulsory and a squeezer decides whether pelletizing runs stable.
Shredder, washing line, squeezer, pelletizer
Plastic shredder machine Plastic washing line Plastic auxiliary equipment Plastic pelletizing machine
PP woven and ton bags
Semi-rigid and tangling. Needs shredding before any crusher, and sand is the contaminant that matters.
Shredder, crusher, washing line
Plastic shredder machine Plastic crusher and granulator Plastic washing line
PET bottle bales
Rigid with glue, labels and beverage residue. Hot washing plus density separation, because caps share a size but not a density.
Bale opener, crusher, hot washing line, dryer
Plastic crusher and granulator Plastic washing line Plastic auxiliary equipment
HDPE drums and rigid parts
Rigid but comparatively clean. The problem is torque at the inlet, not cleaning, so cold washing usually suffices.
Shredder, crusher, cold washing line
Plastic shredder machine Plastic crusher and granulator Plastic washing line
Where your material is now
One Batch of Plastic, Six Forms
These are our own production photographs of the same material changing form along a line. Find the photo that looks like what you have, and you know which machine you need to buy first.
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Input As delivered Bales and whole items Baled bottles, whole drums, rolled film, loose bags -
Shredding Rough chips 20 to 100 mm Screen controlled, from the DS twin-shaft range Plastic shredder machine -
Crushing Regrind 8 to 16 mm Rigid regrind; PET bottle lines run 12 to 20 mm Plastic crusher and granulator -
Washing Washed flake Size unchanged Contaminants leave, water arrives Plastic washing line -
Drying Dry flake Below 1% moisture On rigid flake, out of the hot-air drying stage Plastic auxiliary equipment -
Pelletizing Recycled pellet About 3 mm Melted, filtered and cut, ready to sell as resin Plastic pelletizing machine
Every figure here comes from our own machine specifications: 20 to 100 mm from the DS twin-shaft range, 8 to 16 mm from the rigid washing line, 12 to 20 mm from the PET bottle line, below 1% from the hot-air drying stage and about 3 mm from the pelletizer.
Decide this before asking a price
Clean Flakes or Recycled Pellets
The output you intend to sell sets the length of the line, and therefore most of the budget. It is the one answer we need before anything else.
Rough chips
Chosen when the job is freight volume, pre-treatment for someone else, or feeding a granulator that cannot swallow whole items.
- Shredding
- Crushing if a screen size is required
Clean flakes
The line stops after washing and drying. Shorter, cheaper and quicker to commission, but your price depends entirely on flake cleanliness and residual moisture.
- Size reduction
- Washing and separation
- Drying
Recycled pellets
Extrusion, melt filtration and cutting are added after drying. Higher investment and higher power draw, but pellets sell straight into film blowing, injection moulding and extrusion.
- Everything above
- Extrusion and filtration
- Pelletizing and cooling
Pellets are marked because that is where most enquiries end up, but a plant selling washed flake to a converter down the road often earns more per invested dollar in its first year.
What sets the output grade
Six Process Decisions Behind Flake and Pellet Quality
Plastic recycling equipment has no quality dial. Output grade comes out of these six decisions, and each one has a cost attached.
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01
Sorting before the line
Whatever arrives mixed has to be separated by hand or by equipment. No washing line corrects a polymer that should never have entered it.
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02
Cold, hot or caustic wash
Glue, oil and beverage residue need heat and chemistry. Lightly soiled industrial scrap does not, and paying for hot washing you do not need is the most common overspend we see.
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03
Density separation
Sink-float tanks remove what shares a size with your material but not a density, which is how caps and labels leave a PET stream.
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04
Friction and rinsing
Mechanical rubbing removes what soaking leaves behind. This is where surface dirt and label residue actually go.
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05
Moisture target
Rigid flake reaches below one percent readily. Film holds water in its folds, so squeezing capacity is what makes pelletizing stable.
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06
Melt filtration level
Dirtier feed needs more filter area and more frequent screen changes, which shows up as labour cost rather than machine cost.
Where the money goes
What Moves the Price of a Plastic Recycling Line
We do not publish a price list, because steel prices move and a figure written here would mislead you. What does not change is which variables move the number, so those are set out below. This table stays at line level; the machine-by-machine cost breakdown asks the same question one machine at a time, and sets out the scope-of-supply lines that decide whether two quotations can be compared at all.
| Cost driver | What it changes in the quotation |
|---|---|
| Capacity | The single largest factor. Doubling throughput does not double price, but it does raise motor sizes, tank volumes and the floor area you must have. |
| Contamination level | Hot washing adds heating, chemical dosing and water treatment. On clean factory scrap all three disappear from the quotation. |
| Output grade | Stopping at clean flake removes the entire extrusion and pelletizing section, which is usually the most expensive block. |
| Automation level | PLC control, automatic screen changers and conveyor interlocks cost more up front and save operator hours every shift. |
| Wear parts | Knife steel grade and screen material change both the price and how often the line stops. This is where the cheapest quotation usually gets expensive. |
| Utilities on site | Power supply, water availability and local discharge rules can add equipment that has nothing to do with the machines themselves. |
The cost that never appears in a quotation is the one that matters most: a line that stops. Knife life, screen changes and how quickly a spare part reaches you decide your cost per ton far more than the purchase price does.
Understand the process first
Read the Process Before Choosing Equipment
Buyers who understand what each stage physically does end up with a shorter, cheaper and more reliable line. These four are the ones worth reading first.
the plastic recycling process, stage by stage
What each section of a line physically doeshot wash versus cold wash
When heat and caustic are worth paying forwhat a plastic recycling plant costs to run
Power, water and labour per tonplastic regrind quality
What buyers of your flake will actually check
Who you would be buying from
Why Buyers Choose BKL-MACHINE
Every claim here is checkable, on this site or by asking us for the file. The longer version is on the plastic recycling machine factory page.
A factory, not a trading desk
Cutting, welding, machining, assembly and trial running all happen in our own 2,500 m² workshop in Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu.
Countries already supplied
Densest in Eastern Europe: Poland, Finland, Hungary, Romania and Russia. Voltage and port questions are usually familiar ones.
Or one single machine
We quote a full bottle-to-flake line, and we also quote one shredder to stand in front of a granulator you already own.
Issued with the order
CE marking and the standard export documents. We do not claim certifications the factory does not hold.
Trial running and video
Machines are run and filmed before shipment, ideally on material you have sent us in advance.
Warranty, then parts at cost
Technical support continues for the life of the line, and knives, screens and bearings stay available at cost price.
Delivered lines are documented on the plastic recycling line projects page, and the pre-shipment checks are set out under quality control.
Send the waste stream, not a model number
What to Send Before Requesting a Quote
With these eight answers we can map the line from size reduction through washing and drying to pelletizing, and tell you where the cost actually sits.
- 01Photos or video of the waste material
- 02Whether it arrives baled, loose or in whole items
- 03Contamination type: sand, oil, labels, mixed polymers
- 04Target output: rough chips, clean flakes or pellets
- 05Capacity you need in kg/h or tons per day
- 06Available power supply and voltage
- 07Workshop dimensions and loading method
- 08Whether local rules require water treatment
Send Your Material Details
An engineer replies
Questions that cross all categories
Plastic Recycling Machine FAQ
Ten questions buyers ask before any model number comes up. Machine-specific questions are answered on each category page.
Not answered here?
Send material photos with the capacity you need and we will answer against your own waste stream.
Ask our engineers
What machines are needed for a plastic recycling line?
A complete line has up to five sections: size reduction (shredder or crusher), washing and separation, drying, pelletizing, and the auxiliary equipment that links them. Which sections you actually need depends on your material and the output you plan to sell. Clean factory film can skip washing entirely; baled post-consumer bottles need every section.
Do I have to pelletize after washing?
No. Washed and dried flake is a saleable product, and stopping there removes the most expensive block from the quotation. Pelletize when your buyers require resin rather than flake, or when pellets fetch enough more per ton locally to pay for the extrusion section.
Can one line handle PET, HDPE and film?
Not well. PET bottles, rigid HDPE and soft film differ in how they are cut, how they behave in water and how they are dried, so a line built for all three compromises on all three. We would rather quote a line for your dominant material and, if needed, a second front end for the others.
How much does a plastic recycling machine line cost?
Price moves with capacity, contamination level, output grade and automation, and steel prices move underneath all of them, so a fixed figure published here would be wrong by the time you read it. Send us your material, target capacity and available power and we will quote against those. The cost structure that does not change is on this page.
How much space and power does a recycling line need?
A small film line can run in a few hundred square metres, while a 3,000 kg/h PET washing line needs a workshop measured in thousands, plus room around the tanks for maintenance access. Installed power scales the same way. Tell us the building you have and we will lay the line out inside it rather than quoting equipment that does not fit.
How much water does a washing line consume?
It depends on how dirty the input is. Most of the water is recirculated through settling tanks and filtration, so ongoing consumption is make-up water plus what leaves with the sludge. Tell us your local discharge rules and we will size the water treatment with the line instead of after it.
What are the lead time and installation like?
Manufacturing usually runs one to three months depending on the line and how much is already in stock, followed by trial running, packing and shipping. Installation and commissioning happen on your site with our guidance, remotely or in person depending on the project.
Can I buy one section now and expand later?
Yes, and it is often the sensible route. Buyers commonly start with size reduction and washing, sell flake for a year, then add pelletizing once the feedstock supply and the buyer side are proven. Tell us at the quotation stage so the layout leaves room and the electrical capacity allows for it.
Do I need hot washing, or is cold washing enough?
Cold washing removes sand, dust and loose dirt, and it is often enough for clean industrial scrap and lightly soiled rigid. Hot or caustic washing is what takes off grease, glue and label adhesive, and it is normally needed for PET going to food-contact grade and for drums that held oil. What decides it is what is stuck to the material, not which polymer it is.
Which plastics can this equipment process?
PET bottles, HDPE drums and bottles, PP woven bags and rigid parts, LDPE and PE agricultural or packaging film, ABS and PS rigid scrap, and pipe or profile offcuts. Mixed bulky plastic can be reduced but should be separated by polymer before washing, because a washing line removes contamination rather than sorting resins.
Go to the machines
Five Categories of Plastic Recycling Machine
Each category page carries the model range, capacities and the selection logic for that stage of the line.
Plastic shredder machine
Low speed and high torque. Opens drums, pipe, pallets and bales into 20 to 100 mm chips.
DS twin-shaft shredderPlastic crusher and granulator
Screen-controlled cutting into 8 to 16 mm regrind, for rigid plastics and bottle lines.
HVC heavy-duty crusherPlastic washing line
Removes soil, glue, labels and beverage residue. Cold, hot or caustic, chosen by contamination.
PET bottle washing linePlastic pelletizing machine
Melts, filters and cuts clean flake into resin that sells into film, moulding and extrusion.
ML compactor pelletizerPlastic auxiliary equipment
Friction washers, sink-float tanks, dryers and squeezers, the machines that make the line stable.
JG plastic squeezerAll machine models
The full product list across every category, if you already know the machine you are looking for.
