Reliable, dependable, profitable

At its Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi, facility, Commercial Plastics Recycling Inc. (CPR) is proving that sustainability and profitability can go hand in hand. With the help of a WEIMA WLK 10 shredder, along with a WLK 6S shredder, this postindustrial plastics recycler transforms massive volumes of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) purge into clean, reusable material—reducing landfill waste while powering a growing, efficient recycling operation.

Turning industrial waste into manufacturing-ready feedstock 

CPR’s Mississippi facility works closely with nearby petrol chemical companies, allowing them to receive the excess purgings from these large area operations.

CPR receives an average of 3-7 truckloads per day of PET purge material, typically arriving in batches of 35,000-40,000 pounds. These are large, dense chunks of plastic—often weighing between 150 to 200 pounds each—that are difficult to handle without specialized equipment.

Once the purge material reaches CPR’s plant, it’s routed to the WEIMA WLK 10 shredder, which runs 8 hours a day. This machine consistently processes between 14,000 and 18,000 pounds of material per day, totaling up to between 280,000 and 360,000 pounds per month. The output: clean, uniform, 3/8-inch plastic pieces that are packaged and shipped out to manufacturers for reuse.  

Scaling operations to meet demand  

Originally operating from a single warehouse, CPR has expanded to include a second refurbished building to accommodate growing volumes. The added space allows for more efficient storage and processing, improving turnaround times and throughput.

Each week, the Mississippi site now ships approximately nine truckloads of shredded plastic, with each truck carrying around 42,000 pounds. This translates to more than 18 million pounds of recycled plastic per year that are diverted from landfills and reintegrated into manufacturing processes.

Adding redundancy and flexibility with the WLK 6S  

To further strengthen their operations, CPR recently invested in a second WEIMA machine—the WLK 6S single-shaft shredder. This addition plays a vital role in both reliability and scalability. With the WLK 6S on-site, CPR has the flexibility to maintain steady production rates even during scheduled maintenance on the WLK 10. Additionally, when customer demand spikes, the two machines can run together, boosting daily throughput without compromising quality.

Like the WLK 10, the WLK 6S produces 3/8-inch particle sizes, ensuring consistency in output across both machines. The added capacity gives CPR the confidence to meet customer expectations while continuing to grow.

Maximizing equipment performance with preventative maintenance  

To keep their equipment in peak condition, the CPR team follows a disciplined maintenance schedule. On the WLK 10, knives are checked every 100 hours of operation and either rotated or replaced as needed. Sharp knives and consistent upkeep are essential to maintaining high throughput and minimizing downtime.

Thanks to this proactive approach—and now, the added redundancy of the WLK 6S—the team can return to full production quickly and meet daily processing goals without interruption.

A mission with measurable impact

By efficiently converting postindustrial PET purge into usable raw material, CPR supports a more sustainable manufacturing ecosystem. Their work helps reduce the demand for virgin plastic and keeps millions of pounds of waste out of landfills each year.

The products manufactured by CPR’s customers are used worldwide in the automotive and marine industries, PET fiber industries, electrical cable industries, coating industries and the mono-filament industries.

CPR’s Mississippi facility is a power- ful example of how smart equipment, strategic expansion, and a clear environmental mission can come together to create a measurable impact—one truckload at a time.

About WEIMA

More than 40,000 machines sold worldwide. WEIMA has been manufacturing robust shredders, briquetting and drainage presses for the disposal and processing of all types of waste for more than four decades. Our machines include single-shaft shredders, four-shaft shredders, cutting mills, briquette presses, packaging and draining presses. The popular orange machines are used in the wood, plastics, paper, packaging, metal and waste-to-energy industries.

Made in Germany. Built for the world.

Shredders, briquette, and drainage presses from WEIMA are exclusively made in Germany and come from production plants in Saxony-Anhalt and Baden-Wuerttemberg. Every year, more than 300 employees work on around 1,200 customer solutions from around the globe.

WEIMA’s North American headquarters is located in Fort Mill, South Carolina. With a fully stocked parts department and traveling service technicians, WEIMA America, Inc. has the expertise and experience to provide a size reduction solution and the customer service to back it up.