ChipPE chops container disposal costs

An new concept to shred used plastic containers could cut farmers future waste disposal costs by over 80%. The ChipPE, designed and manufactured exclusively by Techneat Engineering, quickly and efficiently reduces plastic cans and bottles to a fraction of their former size and deposits them directly into containers, for collection by licenced waste disposal contractors.

The prototype machine was on show for the first time at LAMMA in January 2006. Whilst most plastic containers are currently burned on-farm, new waste legislation will require growers to seek an alternative, approved, disposal route.

The ChipPE incorporates a geared bank of specialist knives, driven by powerful electric motor, to smoothly shred containers in seconds, but without creating a risk of splashback. In trials, the ChipPE has shred the entire plastic container packaging from a typical days spraying across 200 hectares in less than 10 minutes.

“A waste recycling contractor’s bag that will contain around 25kg of crushed containers, will hold at least 100kg of chipped plastic. Since charges are around £30 per bag, the cost of disposal is reduced from £1.20 per kg to 30 pence,” according to the designer, Tom Neat. Arable farms produce an average of over half a kilo of waste containers per hectare in the course of a season, so disposal costs could be reduced from 67 p/ha to less than 17 pence, he calculates.

With the ChipPE expected to sell for around £4000, the cost could be recouped by shredding containers from around 1000 hectares - making it a viable proposition for individual growers or groups of smaller farms.

The ChipPE is designed to compress packaging volume by a factor of four or five – significantly reducing on-farm storage requirements and transport costs for waste contractors.

Once washed out containers are fed into the ChipPE’s hopper, there is no further operator contact, providing a safe and secure option.

Mr Neat reports the company has been working with several nationwide waste contractors to develop a flexible system that will work with alternative collection routes. The bags operated by Solway Recycling, for example, fit directly onto the ChipPE and can be easily moved by forklift once filled.

“Sealed bags can be safely stored temporarily for collection within the licenced exemptions. The whole system has been developed in collaboration with Defra and Environment Agency teams.”

The ChipPE is available now. For further information contact Techneat on 01353 862044 or via the link below.

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