ENVIE applies FOR REC technology to combine efficiency and sustainability

ENVIE: the perfect mix between materials recycling and social sustainability

ENVIE deals with managing, reconditioning, disposing and recycling waste and electrical equipment while supporting social causes.

Their Strasbourg plant, in fact, is specifically designed to employ disadvantaged personnel, with slight disabilities or protected professional categories, always supported by professionals and specialized technicians. This collaboration has created an efficient and highly operational social activity, able to create added value and high quality output.

Envie has met the professionalism and skills of FOR REC and, thanks to this collaboration, the two companies created a project that has allowed the French firm to optimize its processes and create a recycling line that is both safe for employees and respectful of the surrounding environment.

The FOR REC solution

Thanks to its many years of experience and know-how in this sector, FOR REC has supported ENVIE in the realization of the recycling line, composed of a series of machineries that combine efficiency and comfort for the operators.

1. The first step involves the passage of materials through a large metering hopper, into which various types of electronic equipment are dropped. All waste in the R4 category (small household appliances, consumer electronics, IT equipment, office automation and lighting) are treated by the line in an efficient and accurate way.
2. A conveyor belt allows the operator to perform an initial manual sorting of items and select those that might contaminate the final output
3. All the unsorted material goes through an initial treatment with a twin-shaft crusher, a machine purposely designed by FOR REC to automatically open the appliances, avoiding the product to be cut or pressed
4. Next, there is an even more careful sorting process. For this project, ENVIE has chosen to invest significantly on the quality of the output and on the wellness of its employees. For this reason, an elaborate network of conveyor systems has been designed to allow for a meticulous and precise selection of any polluting materials, such as batteries, condensers or electrical cables. The operators can carry out the selection inside closed sorting cabins, air-conditioned in summer and heated in winter, to ensure maximum comfort.
5. The products coming out of the various selection areas are then sent to a four-shaft shredder that brings the material to a size that allows automatic selection with an eddy current system for the separation of plastic and non-ferrous metals, which will then be subjected to a system of magnets to identify the ferrous components.