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Metal sorting in Markaryd
Metal sorting facilities are typically designed to handle larger metal items than packaging, which means that smaller items such as packaging can be lost in the process and are not recycled to the same extent. Our facility is specifically designed for metal packaging, where even the smaller fractions are captured and returned to the material cycle.
By operating the plant ourselves, we can also ensure that we constantly improve the process. With continuous fine-tuning and technical upgrades, we see that the sorting rate increases, which in turn leads to a higher recycling rate.
The metal packaging goes through a carefully designed sorting process. First, the material is transported on a conveyor belt where an overbelt magnet picks up the magnetic metals, such as steel, and separates them from the rest. Then, the remaining packages go to a lower belt magnet, which picks up any magnetic metals that were not caught in the first stage.
The material remaining after these two magnetic separations consists of a mixture of non-magnetic metals and waste. To separate these, an eddy current sorter is used, a technique that efficiently separates non-magnetic metal packaging from other material. The result is three fractions: magnetic metals, non-magnetic metals and a waste fraction. In this way, we can ensure that as much of the metal packaging as possible is actually recovered and recycled.
The metal sorted out at the plant is given new life in various industries. The customers we supply the recycled material to are mainly, where the metal is melted down and reused for new products.
Magnetic metal is recycled into products such as rebar and wire. Non-magnetic metal is sorted into aluminum, copper, stainless steel and brass fractions, where they become new products in both the automotive industry and steel producers.
“We welcome visitors who want to see how metal packaging is sorted and prepared for recycling at our plant in Markaryd,” says Carl Lundqvist, CEO and site manager of TMR Production AB.
