CM tire shredder on the job in Virginia

Sarasota, Florida-based CM Shredders says it has helped install one of its high-capacity automated tire shredding system at Southeastern Public Service Authority (SPSA) Waste Solutions facility in Suffolk, Virginia.

SPSA is a regional solid waste collection and disposal agency for more than 1 million residents in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. In the past four years, the inbound tire flow into the SPSA tire processing facility has doubled, and the percentage of truck tires has increased significantly, according to CM Shredders.

The agency’s previous tire shredder, also a CM unit, was in reliable operation for nearly 20 years, says the firm. “The management team at SPSA decided it was time to replace that shredder and an invitation for bid went out to several shredder manufacturers, according to CM.

CM Shredders was awarded the replacement contract and has installed a new tire shredding system that can process passenger car, semi-truck, and light OTR (off the road) tires. The new system includes a new CM HT 250 (high torque) hybrid primary shredder that, during a test, processed in excess of 30 tons per hour, according to CM. 

“An array of cameras and advanced sensors are custom programmed to communicate with both the shredder and the conveyance systems allowing the machine to self-meter at high volumes,” says Mario Vazquez, CM Shredders sales and marketing director. “The operators can view the live camera feeds remotely and can focus on other tasks as the machine keeps an optimal speed and capacity on its own,"

Vazquez continues, “With high capacities and automation come greater chances of a foreign object such as rocks and rims making it through initial screening protocols.” For added protection, the CM system has what it calls an extreme impact protection system.

Using electrical controls, that system provides a torque limiting function that can instantaneously detect and respond to an extreme impact and “is much more efficient than an old-style mechanical system,” according to CM Shredders.

“I’ve dealt with machinery all my life, and this is the most impressive piece of equipment I’ve ever been a part of purchasing,” says Dennis Bagley, who serves as SPSA’s deputy executive director. “The new machine can shred and process four times as many tires as the old shredder, and the old shredder was no slouch. We are very proud of our new facility and of the fact that every scrap of rubber will be recycled - mainly used for TDA [tire-derived aggregate] or at the landfill [for civil engineering purposes].”