Should You Grind Plastic Scrap Before Selling It?

Manufacturers generating large quantities of plastic scrap eventually encounter an important question:

Should we buy a grinder and process the plastic ourselves?

Grinding can reduce bulky plastic into manageable regrind, potentially improving storage and transportation efficiency.

But buying a grinder doesn’t automatically make your scrap more valuable.

For some manufacturers, in-house grinding makes excellent operational sense.

For others, selling clean unground scrap to a recycler with processing capabilities may be considerably more efficient.

What Is Plastic Regrind?

Plastic regrind is material produced when larger plastic scrap is mechanically reduced into relatively small pieces.

Feedstock can include:

• Rejected parts
• Runners
• Sprues
• Pallets
• Totes
• Crates
• Dunnage
• Other rigid plastic

Regrind can then potentially be used as recycled manufacturing feedstock depending on resin, specifications and application.

Benefits of Grinding Plastic In-House

Reduced Volume

Bulky parts contain significant empty space.

Grinding can dramatically increase material density.

Better Storage Efficiency

Regrind can occupy less warehouse space than whole parts.

Transportation Efficiency

Denser material can potentially improve trailer utilization.

Immediate Reuse

Some manufacturers can return appropriately controlled regrind directly into their own production processes.

That can provide considerably more value than selling the material externally.

Reasons Not to Grind In-House

Equipment Cost

Industrial grinding equipment requires capital.

Labor

Someone has to operate, clean and maintain the system.

Maintenance

Blades, motors and other components require ongoing attention.

Energy

Grinding consumes electricity.

Contamination

A grinder used for multiple materials can create cross-contamination without proper cleaning procedures.

Metal Risk

Unexpected metal can damage equipment.

Space

The equipment itself requires production-floor space.

Noise and Dust

Processing equipment introduces additional facility-management considerations.

Does Grinding Increase Plastic Scrap Value?

Not necessarily.

A buyer may pay differently for regrind than whole parts, but the manufacturer’s actual calculation should include the cost of creating that regrind.

Calculate:

Additional Scrap Revenue

minus

Equipment + Labor + Energy + Maintenance + Downtime + Space + Quality Control

Only then can you determine whether in-house processing creates value.

Talk to Your Recycler Before Buying Equipment

This is one of the most important recommendations.

Your recycler may already have industrial size-reduction equipment.

If it can efficiently process your material, investing substantial capital in equipment simply to prepare scrap for that recycler may not be necessary.

Ask:

• Do you buy whole parts?
• Do you accept purge?
• Do you accept pallets and totes?
• Do you prefer regrind?
• Does grinding change the price?
• What particle size do you require?
• How should regrind be packaged?
• What contamination standards apply?

Then evaluate the economics.

When In-House Grinding Makes More Sense

Grinding becomes more attractive when a facility generates:

• High recurring volume
• Consistent resin
• Large amounts of bulky scrap
• Material suitable for internal reuse
• Significant transportation inefficiency
• Predictable production scrap

It becomes less attractive when scrap volumes are small, materials change frequently or contamination controls are difficult.

Seraphim Plastics Reprocesses Industrial Plastic

Seraphim Plastics operates industrial plastic reprocessing capabilities and works with manufacturers generating commercial quantities of recyclable material.

Before investing in equipment simply to prepare material for sale, talk with Seraphim Plastics about how your existing scrap could be handled.

Sometimes processing your own material makes sense.

Sometimes the more profitable decision is letting the recycler do the recycling.