MBA Polymers recently upgraded one of its existing Drawer Filter Magnets at their Worksop plastics recycling site in the UK with an innovative manual self-cleaning magnet insert. This new solution significantly cuts down the time needed to clean ferrous metal captured by the high-strength tube magnets, making operations faster and safer for the team.

Bunting is a global leader in magnetic separation technology, offering magnetic separators, eddy current separators, metal detectors, and electrostatic separators. Their European manufacturing sites are based in Berkhamsted and Redditch, both located in the UK.

Founded in California in 1997, MBA Polymers started as a small production facility in Richmond, Virginia. Through continuous growth and strategic investments, it has become a major player in the global recycling industry, specializing in recovering plastics from end-of-life durable goods like electronics, appliances, and vehicles.

MBA Polymers UK operates the world's largest and most advanced plastics recycling unit, focusing on recovering waste plastics and rubber from shredder residue—material that would otherwise be sent to landfills. This residue comes from the shredding process of end-of-life vehicles, appliances, and other metal-rich equipment.

Seven years ago, the company installed four Bunting Drawer Filter Magnets, each containing rows of high-strength rare earth neodymium tube magnets. These magnets capture magnetic particles, ensuring that only clean material moves forward in the recycling process, protecting downstream equipment and improving overall efficiency.

To make cleaning more efficient, Bunting introduced a new drawer magnet insert. This insert fits directly into existing units without any modifications. Operators simply pull out the drawer, clear any blockages, and then extract the tube magnets through the front Perspex cover. The front plate attracts the metal, which is then safely collected in a separate bin due to gravity, eliminating the need for manual removal.

This innovation has reduced cleaning time to just 40 seconds, minimizing downtime and improving workplace safety. As Guy Hughes, Extrusion Manager at MBA Polymers, explained, “With the new system, we can ensure that contamination is removed before screening, leading to a higher quality product for our customers.”

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