Air Compressors for Recycling Plants
Your UK recycling plant has to be efficient to be profitable. The key is finding savings and guaranteeing uptime. While you focus on electricity and water, your biggest opportunity might be your "fourth utility" – compressed air.
This page shows you how the right Atlas Copco compressed air system can cut your costs, boost your output, and keep you compliant.
Boost Your Throughput and Purity with Compressed Air
Your plant uses high-speed automation to process materials efficiently. Compressed air supplies the energy required for your most challenging applications. Gain the power to produce higher-purity materials at greater throughput.
- Precision Sorting with Air Jets: Your optical sorters need clean, dry air to work. The wrong air quality can damage expensive sensor optics - costing up to £6,000 each to replace - and ruin sorting accuracy.
- Efficient Material Handling: Use pneumatic conveying to move materials like plastic flakes and shredded paper through sealed pipework. It's a simple way to streamline your process and contain dust.
- Baling and Compaction: Pneumatic balers help you compact materials into dense bales. This maximises your vehicle payloads and can cut your transport costs by as much as 20-30%.
Get the Right Atlas Copco System for Your Plant
Your plant is in a harsh environment. The dust and particulates demand robust, purpose-built equipment. As an Atlas Copco Premier Distributor, we provide technology engineered for your conditions.
- Rotary Screw Compressors: For your continuous, 24/7 demands, rotary screw compressors are the industry workhorse. They are designed for a 100% duty cycle.
- Oil-Free Compressors: If your process is sensitive, like optical sorting, you need 100% oil-free air. These units deliver air certified to ISO 8573-1 Class 0, eliminating any risk of contamination. Ensuring high compressed air quality is the first step in protecting your critical assets.
- Low-Pressure Blowers: For pneumatic conveying, an energy-efficient blower is often a better choice than a compressor. Models like the Atlas Copco ZS and ZB series use significantly less energy to move your material.
Cut Costs and Improve Your Bottom Line
Investing in the right system delivers tangible benefits that directly impact your profitability and operational resilience.
- Cut Costs with VSD Technology: Energy can be 80% of a compressor's lifecycle cost. Atlas Copco's Variable Speed Drive (VSD) technology matches motor speed to your exact air demand. Cut energy use by up to 50%—and turn one of your biggest costs into a saving. You can also recover up to 90% of the heat generated by your compressor to produce hot water or heat your workspace. This is one of the most effective ways to reduce your air compressor costs.
- Guarantee Reliability in a Harsh Environment: You need to protect the compressor itself. We recommend systems with robust, IP-rated enclosures to seal sensitive components from dust. For the ultimate solution, a fully containerised 'plant-in-a-box' system isolates your entire air system outside the main facility, ensuring it runs in a clean, controlled environment for maximum life and performance.
Solve Your Plant's Toughest Challenges
Your recycling plant faces challenges like high energy bills and contamination. The right compressed air system solves them.
- High Energy Bills: Solved with VSD compressors, professional leak detection, and energy recovery systems.
- Moisture & Contamination: Solved with correctly specified oil-free compressors, dryers, and filtration. We can also specify and install industrial dust and fume extraction systems to manage airborne particulates across your plant.
- Unplanned Downtime: Solved with robust equipment and a proactive, preventative maintenance plan.
- Noise in Urban Areas: Solved with modern, low-noise designs featuring soundproofed enclosures.
Stay Compliant with UK Regulations
Operating your compressed air system in the UK requires you to meet key regulations. We help ensure your facility stays compliant with:
- ISO 8573-1: The international standard for compressed air purity.
- Pressure Systems Safety Regulations (PSSR) 2000: Legal requirements for the safe design and use of your pressure systems.
- ESOS & SECR: UK schemes requiring large organisations to report energy use. An efficient compressor system directly supports your environmental targets.
Why Work With Us?
Why Choose Control Gear
As an Atlas Copco Premier Distributor, we provide expert guidance and technical support for customers across South Wales and the West, including Cardiff, Newport, Swansea, Bristol, and Swindon.
When you partner with us, you get:
- 50+ years of industry expertise
- ISO 9001, 14001, and 45001 accreditations
- FGAS-certified engineers
- 24/7 emergency support to minimise downtime
We understand the diverse industrial applications of air compressors. Whatever your requirements, we can customise the right solution for you – from audit, installation and maintenance.
Consult our experts today. Book an audit, ask for a quote or receive quick advice on the most suitable Atlas Copco system for your facility.
