Design and fabrication of a solar and ac powered plastic bottle shredding machine.

Abstract

Plastic recycling is one the steps taken to manage and curb the plastic solid wastes and the impacts of this waste on the environment. The process of plastic recycling involves collection, sorting, washing, and shredding of the plastics by a shredding machine before compounding the plastics. Much as this is an effective intervention, it is under developed in developing countries like Uganda and most especially in the cities like Kampala where there is most plastic waste generation. This is mainly due to the high costs involved with the shredding technologies in place and the low profitability of the ventures to those involved in collection and sorting of the plastic waste. This paper hence focused on the design and fabrication of a portable solar and AC powered plastic bottle shredding machine that is cheaper and more economically viable than the existing shedding technologies. The quantity and quality of waste generated in Kampala is outlined and the process of plastic recycling is discussed in detail. The methodology used to come up with the machine is addressed and the results of the performance of the machine is listed and discussed together with the economic analysis.