Polythene Bag Recycling Machines: From Collected Bags to Reusable Plastic
Polythene bags are easy to recycle once they are sorted and shredded, and hard to handle before that. This guide follows bags from collection to reusable plastic granules, names the polythene bag recycling machine used at each step, and shows which of them Raj Electricals builds.
What polythene bags are made of
Polythene carry bags and film are polyethylene: LDPE and LLDPE for soft, stretchy bags and film, HDPE for thin, crinkly bags. All of them melt and can be made into new products. Three things get in the way. Bags are light, so a godown full of them weighs little. Film wraps around fast machinery. And collected bags carry dirt, labels and other waste.
Not every bag belongs in the same lot. Non-woven bags look like cloth but are polypropylene. Multilayer and metallised pouches combine materials that a simple recycling line cannot separate. Keep both apart from polythene, and keep coloured bags apart from clear ones if your buyer pays more for natural material.
Polythene bag recycling, step by step
- Collection and sorting Bags are separated from paper, wet waste, non-woven bags and multilayer pouches, then sorted by colour
- Shredding A dual shaft shredder tears loose bags into strips without the film wrapping
- Washing Dirty film is washed and dried after shredding, while clean bags can skip this step
- Agglomeration An agglomerator densifies the light film into crumbs that feed an extruder evenly
- Extrusion and pelletising An extruder melts and filters the plastic, and a cutter turns it into granules (dana)
- Reuse Granules go into pipes, sheets, new film and moulded products
The polythene bag recycling machine at each step
| Step | Machine | Made by Raj Electricals? |
|---|---|---|
| Sorting | Sorting tables and conveyors | No |
| Shredding | Dual shaft shredder, or a single shaft shredder for dense bales and lumps | Yes |
| Washing | Friction washers, float-sink tanks, squeezers and dryers | No |
| Agglomeration | Agglomerator (densifier) | No |
| Extrusion and pelletising | Extruder with a melt filter and pelletiser | No |
A complete plant runs every step, but not every recycler does. Some collection centres and aggregators only sort and shred, and sell the shredded film to a reprocessor who washes, agglomerates and pelletises it. Shredding is the step that turns loose bags into material a reprocessor will buy.
Why collected bags go to a shredder first
Loose film defeats fast machines. In a high-speed grinder, collected bags float above the blades, wrap around the rotor and block the screen. A dual shaft shredder runs two slow, interlocking shafts that pull the film down and tear it through, so nothing wraps. The output is an uneven strip that washes and dries far better than whole bags, and feeds the agglomerator evenly.
Shred before you wash. Whole bags trap water and nest inside each other, while strips wash and dry quickly. Before shredding, take out stones, metal, glass and wet waste, which damage cutters and spoil the output.
Planning a polythene bag recycling unit
- Daily intake. Kilograms of bags a day, and the hours you will run. Loose bags feed slower than their weight suggests, because of their bulk.
- How bags arrive. Loose, in sacks or baled. Dense bales and compacted lumps may need a single shaft shredder.
- Your bag mix. Polythene, non-woven or both. Shred them as separate batches, so each polymer sells at its own price.
- Your buyer. Whether they want shredded film, washed flakes or granules decides how many steps you run yourself.
If you are planning a complete unit, our guide to setting up a plastic waste recycling plant covers the wider plan.
Where Raj Electricals’ machines fit
Raj Electricals has been manufacturing since 1985 and has supplied more than 2,100 machines. In a polythene bag recycling line, we build the shredding step:
- Loose polythene and carry bags from collection centres, malls and dry waste facilities: a dual shaft shredder from our twin shaft shredder range, sized to your daily intake. Our carry bag shredder page explains the approach.
- Non-woven bags, or bag streams that include them: the DS5007 dual shaft shredder, whose applications include plastic carry bags and non-woven bags. Our non woven bag shredder page covers that stream.
- Baled or compacted film lumps: the S3-600 from our single shaft shredder range.
We do not make washing lines, agglomerators or extruders. For those steps you need a film reprocessing machinery supplier, or a reprocessor who buys your shredded film.
Not sure which machine fits your bag waste?
Tell our technical team your bag mix, daily intake and whether bags arrive loose or baled, and we will recommend a machine.
Polythene bag recycling questions
Can polythene bags be recycled?
Yes. Polythene bags are polyethylene, which melts and can be made into new products. Clean, sorted bags of one type recycle well. Multilayer and metallised pouches, and bags heavily mixed with other waste, are much harder to recycle and are kept out of polythene lots. Non-woven bags are polypropylene and go in a separate lot.
Which machine do you need first for polythene bag recycling?
A shredder. Loose bags must be torn into strips before they can be washed, agglomerated or sold to a reprocessor, and a slow dual shaft shredder does this without the film wrapping. Sorting comes before it, and washing, agglomeration and extrusion come after. Raj Electricals builds the shredder, see our carry bag shredder page.
What is plastic dana?
Dana is the trade name for plastic granules, the small pellets an extruder makes from new or recycled plastic. Recycled polythene dana goes into pipes, sheets, new film and moulded products. Making dana from bags takes sorting, shredding, washing where needed, agglomeration and extrusion. Raj Electricals builds the shredding step.
Do polythene bags have to be washed before recycling?
Only if they are dirty, and only after shredding. Whole bags trap water and nest inside each other, while shredded strips wash and dry quickly. Clean bags from shops and malls often go straight from the shredder to the agglomerator. Whatever their condition, remove stones, metal, glass and wet waste before shredding.
What decides the cost of a polythene bag recycling machine?
For the shredder: the model and its capacity, how the bags arrive, the bag mix, the motor, any options, and the feeding and discharge you need. A full line adds washing, agglomeration and extrusion machines from other suppliers. Every machine is quoted to the job. Our page on plastic shredder machine price explains each factor, and you can send us your daily intake through our contact page for a quotation.
Get a Free Quote for a Polythene Bag Shredder
Tell us your bag mix, daily intake and whether the bags arrive loose or baled. Our technical team will recommend a machine and send you a quotation.
Phone: +91 98700 12462
WhatsApp: Chat with our team
Email: rajelectricalsmumbai@gmail.com
Hours: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM, all seven days