Recycling of foam pallets can be broken down into the following steps. We recommend the following methods to effectively reduce volume, transportation and storage costs, while converting waste foam materials into reusable resources.

The following video shows how to handle styrofoam disposal with recycling equipment in Shuliy factory.

styrofoam pallet recycling process

Foam crushing – initial volume reduction

Foam pallets are first fed into a styrofoam shreddder machine for initial crushing. The purpose of this step is to cut the foam pallets into small pieces (coarse powder), which significantly reduces their size and facilitates subsequent processing.

Horizontaler Schaumbrecher
horizontaler Schaumbrecher
Horizontaler Schaumbrecher
horizontaler Schaumbrecher

Shuliy horizontal foam crusher’s inlet is horizontal to the floor, which greatly improves the feeding speed. The crushed foam is blown by the blower into the hot melt machine for the next processing step.

Hot melting – further densify

The crushed foam pieces are fed into a foam hot melt machine, which we also call it a foam densifier. In the hot melt densifer, the foam material is melted by heating into a flowing molten state. The volume of the foam is further reduced dramatically in this process (usually to 40 to 60 times its original volume), making it easier to store and transport.

Schaumschmelzmaschine
Schaumschmelzmaschine
foam-melting-densifier
foam-melting-densifier

Forming or blocking – for subsequent utilization

Melted foam can be cooled and molded into foam blocks or other solid forms. These molded foams can be used as industrial raw materials and are widely used in the production of recycled plastic products, building materials, insulation materials, and so on.

Storage and transportation

Due to the significant reduction in volume of the foam after hot melting, the recycled processed foam material is easy to store and transport, and can be shipped to factories for subsequent processing at a much lower cost.

The great significance of styrofoam pallet recycling

  • Reduce pollution: Foam has a long degradation cycle, through mechanical recycling can reduce environmental pollution.
  • Improve resource utilization: Convert waste foam into usable raw materials, saving resources.
  • Supports circular economy: Recycling foam helps reduce dependence on virgin plastics and promotes sustainable development.
  • Reduced transportation costs: The heat fusion significantly reduces the volume, making transportation more efficient.

Through this styrofoam pallet recycling process, those used foam pallets can be transformed from waste to a valuable resource, contributing to environmental protection and the circular economy.