Washing Line
Also called: Plastic washing plant, recycling line, hot wash, cold wash
A washing line is a set of machines that shreds, washes, separates and dries post-consumer plastic to produce clean flakes or regrind.
A washing line is a recycling plant that turns dirty post-consumer plastic into clean flakes or regrind. A typical line includes bale opening, sorting, label removal, shredding or grinding, friction washing, float-sink separation, hot washing where needed, rinsing, drying and dust removal.
Hot wash vs cold wash
- Cold or ambient washing removes loose dirt and is common for many polyolefin streams.
- Hot washing with caustic solution removes glue, oils and stubborn residues, and is standard for higher-grade PET flakes.
Why it matters when buying recycled plastic
- Washing quality decides residual glue, labels, odour and contamination in the final product.
- Drying performance controls moisture content, which you pay for by weight.
- Ask suppliers whether material is hot or cold washed, and how they sort colour and remove PVC.
- Request a sample from a recent production lot rather than a hand-picked one.
Use our recycled PET flakes buying guide to set washing-related specifications.
A well-run line also manages water treatment and sludge, which affects both quality consistency and the environmental compliance of the supplier.