STF Recycling, Germany

STF, a global OEM and one of the largest recyclers in Europe, processes 130,000 tonnes of PET bottles each year, for bottle-to-bottle grade rPET flakes and pellets. The ability to achieve the highest value recyclate at the greatest possible yield – despite constantly changing input composition and contamination levels – has consistently been one of STF’s main business objectives.

They needed to accurately separate valuable rPET, regardless of its contamination, which could be as little as 5 percent or as much as 30 percent, from bale to bale, depending on the recycling practices of different countries.

Following trials to evaluate multiple technologies, STF selected Bühler’s breakthrough, two-machine solution to increase output quality, while minimising the loss of valuable and re-usable product. The combination of the SORTEX A ColorVision™ and the SORTEX E PolyVision™, reliably removes foreign material that can devalue rPET, such as opaque defects, wood, metals, other foreign material (FM) and non-PET. Bühler also introduced STF to its partner, US-based National Recovery Technologies (NRT), which is now supplying them with bottle sorters, at the front end of their production line.