New plastics industry standards released for granulators, strand pelletizers and dicers

The Washington, D.C.-based Plastics Industry Association has a new safety standard focusing on the manufacture, care and use of granulators, strand pelletizers, dicers, and single-shaft rotary grinders.

This standard does not apply to other types of shredders or to pulverizers.

Safety Requirements for Granulators, Strand Pelletizers and Dicers Used for Size Reduction of Plastics is available for sale at a reduced price for member companies at the association’s web store.

“This document provides important information, vital to the safety of people working on or near some very powerful machinery, and the standards for keeping these machines in top condition are essential to the future of plastic production and recycling,” said Plastics Industry Association president and CEO Tony Radoszewski.

The new 47-page safety requirements are the result of a three-year collaboration among members of the association’s Machinery Safety Standards Committee, which the organization says represents “expertise from all corners of the plastics industry.”

Jason Forgash, president of Bay Plastics Machinery and David Miller, general manager for size reduction with Conair Group, co-chaired the team that produced the standard, which is an update and expansion of a 2004 standard. “Working with a team of outstanding individuals from across our industry on this standard was a great experience,” Forgash said. “Our goal was to update a standard that had not been reviewed for too long, and to ensure that our segment of the industry is meeting the most current safety requirements available.”