Up until the 1990's, prior to the BSE crisis, rejected food stuffs and confectionery were typically processed for use as animal feeds.

Atritor Turbo Separator System
for Soft Packaging
The effects of the restrictions resulted in the increase and availability of waste organic matter. Organic matter was identified as a rich source of methane gas, which when land-filled into specially prepared sites, could be tapped off and used as fuel to generate electricity in turbine power generators. Other avenues of disposal were Composters and Renderering Companies. In all cases the waste needs to be removed from   its   packaging  before  being
processed. Shredding or crushing was not an efficient solution due to contamination of the recovered product with packaging and a high percentage of product remained with the separated packaging.

This resulted in the product requiring sifting further before being able to move on to the following process. The poor efficiencies achieved resulted in higher recovered packaging weights which increased landfill or recycling costs. The only other option was to empty the packaging by hand which is slow, costly and has health and safety implications.

The Turbo Separator is designed to separate    a    wide     range    of
Bread after being Separated
from Soft Packaging
packaging from its contents with up to 99% efficiency. The Turbo Separator separates the products using centrifugal force, air flow and mechanical action. The paddles for separating  soft  packaging  are  larger


Pots after Separation
than standard paddles and are designed so split the wrappers open. This causes minimal damage to the packaging and generates higher air flow which increases separation efficiency. The Turbo Separator separates the full range of soft packaging from bread in bags to ready meals shrink wrapped on polymer trays. The Turbo Separator is fitted with a variable speed drive to enhance efficiency. The system is capable of being mounted either in doors or out doors.

Atritor supply the complete system including in-feed conveyor, empty packaging conveyor, and recovered material conveyor or pumping system. The Turbo Separator is mounted on an access platform and includes controls housed in a floor mounted panel.

Examples of products removed from soft packaging by a Turbo Separator include:

Beans, Pet Food, Biscuits, Crackers, Soup, Ready Meals, Fruit, Tomatoes, Peas, Carrots, Broccoli, Coli flour, Potatoes, Sprouts, Dessert Products, Bread, Custard, Cakes, Confectionery, Potato Chips, Crisps, Cereals, Tea Bags, Gravy Granules, Biscuits, Coffee, Cigarettes and many more.

Soft Packaging after Separation