After fabricating millions of pounds of Acetal, Nylon, Ultra High Molecular Weight (UHMW) polyethylene, and other plastic materials for our customers, TSE Industries takes charge of its leftovers. Scraps from our Plastic Fabrication and Machining division don’t sit idle—we either resell them by the gaylord-full to companies specializing in repurposed materials or recycle them in-house!
Recycling Can Be a Real Grind!
The recycling process of UHMW allows us to reuse the remnants and resell them as recycled, or reprocessed UHMW, to customers as a less expensive alternative to Virgin or Enhanced UHMW where sheet color isn’t an issue. After various components and parts are fabricated from any style of UHMW sheet, scraps are set aside in preparation for recycling.
STEP 1: Every color and style of UHMW are combined into one pile, typically a gaylord or other bulk container, and sent off to the grinder!
STEP 2: Used UHMW pieces are fed to our gigantic grinder! Operators watch the screen to ensure the grinding process is working as intended.
The UHMW remnants come out of the grinder. They are the size of pebbles or small rocks!
STEP 3: The UHMW fragments then go through an industrial process that breaks the UHMW pieces down into smaller and smaller pieces.
STEP 4:
Eventually, we grind the UHMW sheets so fine they take on a silky, powder-like texture. Then, we melt them down and press them into dynamic
Reprocessed UHMW sheets!
As you can see, we waste next to nothing in TSE’s Plastic Fabrication division. We also tackle recycling head-on in our Specialty Chemicals division by repurposing steel drums. When containers become damaged or reach the end of their lifespan, we compress them and prep them for a recycling comeback—another bold step toward protecting the planet!
At TSE, we embrace our responsibility as environmental stewards. Our recycling programs propel us to the 91st percentile on the
EcoVadis sustainable supplier assessment! When a customer chooses to do business with TSE, they know that together we are doing our part to protect the planet as well!
Want more blog posts? Dive back into our main menu: A Passion for Polymers!
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