Design and Development of a Shredder Machine for Efficient Recycling of Waste Plastic in India

In the present global scenario, the usage of plastic and paper is very high and this in return is creating a huge environmental impact. Plastics and paper are two of the most commonly used materials in the world today. In this project, we are majorly concerned with plastic waste. This plastic waste is causing severe effects on both land as well as marine life. Hence, the need of the hour is to design and manufacture a ‘Plastic Shredder machine’ which is not only highly effective but cost-efficient. The shredding machine will play a considerable role in the plastic waste recycling process and to some extent in solving the problems associated with these wastes. The shredder machine is designed to shred various types of plastic waste, such as LDPE, PET, HDPE, and PVC, into small pieces that can be used as raw materials for making new products. The machine is cost-effective, easy to operate, and can shred large volumes of plastic waste in a short time. The machine has five main subassemblies that make up the machine. The driving mechanism, which combines a V-belt drive and gear mesh drives, the prime mover, and the machine frame, which includes the machine stand, feeder unit with the hopper and the cutting unit housing, cutting unit with the cutting blades and shaft, and drive mechanism. The machine's primary mover provides the necessary power for it to function. Our desired thickness of the output pellet is 10 mm, so the thickness of the cutter blade designed is 10 mm as the thickness of the output pellet is directly proportional to the thickness of the cutter blade. On Performance evaluation at a motor speed of 1440 rpm, it was found that machine efficiency for HDPE, PET, and PVC waste plastic was around 91–94%, and for LDPE, it was around 83%. From performance evaluation, it was found that PET-type plastic waste has a maximum efficiency of 93.63%. The shredded plastic waste was then used in the fabrication of bricks. The bricks made from waste plastic have comparable properties to traditional clay bricks, which means they are strong, durable, and suitable for use in construction. Moreover, the use of waste plastic as a raw material for construction provides a sustainable solution to the plastic waste problem. Since most of the plastic bottles are made from PET polymer, the developed machine can be used as a waste plastic bottle crusher and can be installed at various public areas like railway stations, airports, etc. Future research can lead to the developed machine to provide higher efficiency for LDPE plastic.