For anyone looking to reduce volume or recycle contaminated wood, green wood, pallets, poles, stumps, Christmas trees, hedge clippings, potted plants or ‘inorganic’ waste such as polystyrene and paper, a shredder may be the ideal machine. There is a wealth of machines available and shredders can harness different technologies to produce the same result. Some shredders utilise hammermill technology. A series of metal strips (arranged on a rotating shaft moving at high speed) hammer the material before it is fed through a curved plate (a screen with various sized holes) and discharged.

Other shredders use flail technology. Here the material is loaded into a hopper and carried (via an inbuilt conveyor) to a high-speed rotor, which is mounted with flails of various shapes and sizes. The material is then fed through a screen with various sized holes and removed via
a discharge conveyer. ‘Tub grinders’ were developed in the USA. Material is loaded into a tub above a heavy rotor, and (rigidly- mounted) hardened steel projections grind the material against variable size screens. Typically, these grinders are larger machines, powered by 300-600hp engines. Finally, for anyone looking to invest in a machine that can reduce and recycle dirty wood, clean wood, and chip it, machines are available that both chip and shred.

Large shredders Peterson is based in Eugene (Oregon). Launched at the Conexpo- Con in Las Vegas in March, the 2710C track-mounted heavy-duty horizontal grinder is designed for jobs requiring high production and frequent moves. More compact than its larger relatives, the 2710C weighs 27,000kg. Powered by a Caterpillar 475hp C13 engine (with an optional upgrade to a 580hp Cat 15), this grinder has a feed opening of 1534x813mm.

Peterson’s Impact Release System can be set in the ‘detent mode’ for consistent product sizing, or switched to floating-anvil mode, when accurate sizing is less critical. An LCD control panel provides selfdiagnostics for faulty sensors and open circuits and gives the information
needed to operate the unit efficiently. The quick-change multiple grate system makes it easy to customise grate configurations. The ‘Impact Cushion System’ allows movement of the compression roll/anvil housing pivot shaft, cushioning impacts caused by contaminants in the feed material. Morbark of Winn (Oregon) has produced grinders since 1957. The range of tracked and wheeled Woodhog shredders start at 168hp and go up to 1000hp.

The HT (High Torque) 1684 slow speed shredder is equipped with a Caterpillar C12 engine (Cat C15 optional). Its two self-cleaning rotors (1600mm length/80mm diameter) are controlled by an IQAN management system and can be driven independently. Both can turn in different directions and are equipped with aggressive hooks and doubleedged teeth for grabbing and ripping in both directions. Demolition wood and pallets are shredded at 45 tonnes per hour and green wood at 55 tonnes per hour. There is no need to change the rotors for these different materials.
OBMtec UK: 01526 320929 www.obmtec.com

Based in Alabama, the Precision Husky Corporation has produced Precision ProGrind horizontal shredders since 1964. Originally equipped with a fast rotating hammermill, Precision Husky and its UK dealer, Europe Recycling Equipment, have developed a new ‘kombi’ system, turning these grinders into professional woodchippers. By exchanging the original hammers for knives,
the rotor can work as a chip drum, processing a high profile biofuel chip. All the customer has to do is replace the rotor or exchange the rotor parts. This ‘kombi’ system makes ProGrind Shredders a versatile machine, able to shred, chip and screen stumps, logs, branches, waste wood and green waste, even complete trees, into the required end size, via a customised chip screen behind the rotor. The ProGrind product line has three models. Weighing 24,500kg,
the popular remote-controlled ProGrind H-3060 comes with a 30-inch diameter x 60-inch Precision heavy-duty double-cut hammermill powered by a Caterpillar 565hp diesel engine. An open (18 foot x 10-inch) in-feed bed transports the material to the hammer mill, and, when shredded, can be discharged via a 25 foot stacking conveyor, 48 inches wide, with a 15 foot stacking height (complete with magnetic head pulley and nail chute).

All models are available on trailer undercarriage, a track drive or on a stationary frame. The ‘kombi’ system is applicable for all models.
Europe Recycling 07830 312362 www.europe-rec.com

First launched 15 years ago, the Bandit range of shredders includes towable and tracked grinders. The largest is the 5680 Recycler. This radio remote-controlled unit features engine options ranging from 860 to 1,000hp and can process over 200 tonnes per hour. The 5680 processes brush, stumps, whole trees, pallets, construction waste, leaves, compost, asphalt, shingles and lime. A heavy-duty chain-link in-feed conveyor pulls material to a hydraulic feed-wheel which grinds and discharges through a screening surface totalling nearly 40 square feet. A primary side discharge conveyor and secondary discharge conveyor are provided, and a number of different cutting and grinding tools are offered. The smaller Beast 3680 was originally designed as a chipper. However, with the demand to produce mulch and other products, engineers designed the machine to take carbide-tipped teeth, producing
a uniform product by shredding pallets, packaging and wood waste. With the growth in biofuel, the 3680 has now been re-adapted to take interchangeable knives that produce a uniform chip, meeting the current P30 and P50 specifications. Throughput is over 40 tonnes
an hour.

New for 2008 is the Mini Beast 1680. The unit can be powered with diesel engine options up to 300hp and can process material at up to 20 tonnes per hour. With interchangeable screens the machine is able to produce uniform products in one pass.
Global Recycling 0870 770 8540 www.globalrecycling.eu

In Europe, the AK 530 Compact Recycling Shredder is one of Doppstadt’s most popular models. The AK 530 shreds waste wood, wood pallets, green waste, trunks, roots, organic waste and substitute fuels. Powered by a Daimler Chrysler 502LA 8-cylinder V 530hp diesel engine, it transports material to the shredding area by a load-sensing electro-hydraulically driven scraper floor to the adjustable speed in-feed flail drum. The drum comes with a variety of quick-exchange flail tips including carbide tipped (standard), carbide sprayed, armoured flail, cast iron flail or hammer shaped ‘bear claws’. The drum reverses automatically if overstressed.

The final material structure and grain size are determined by the optional available fine-shredding basket (mesh sizes from 30 to 280mm) at the discharge area. The AK 530 is mounted on a three-axle trailer chassis and licensed for speeds of up to 50 mph.
Blue 0845 230 4460 www.bluemachinery.com

King Feeders have been selling the Zago Eco Green Composting machine since 1997. The machine offers a simple, reliable and economical means of green waste recycling. Low on noise, it is often favoured by local authorities in urban areas. A 24-cubic metre machine weighs 14 tonnes (with crane). The PTOpowered towed version may be transported from site to site by conventional agricultural tractors, or Unimogs and Fastracs with air brakes. The truck-mounted version comes with hydraulic drive, while stationary versions are supplied with
John Deere, Perkins or JCB 200hp diesel engines or electric drive. Grass mowings, roots and soil, 10-inch diameter tree loppings, pallets and waste paper are fed into the Ecogreen by a top-mounted crane or loading shovel. The patented mixing system uses four augers (two heavy-duty blades with adjustable counter-blades to cut and mix, while the third and fourth mix only) rotating in the same direction, significantly reducing the power needed to grind, mulch and mix biodegradable products the volume of which is reduced by a ratio of approximately 7:1. Optional extras include heavyduty loading cranes (up to 7 metres),
three, four or five tine grab or clam shell bucket; working platform and unloading foldable conveyor (up to 5 metres).
King Feeders UK 01260 223 273

The Vermeer range of grinders includes the tracked 20,884kg HG4000TX. The remote-controlled HG4000TX is powered by a fully enclosed 44hp Caterpillar diesel engine. The down-cut hammers on the patented duplex drum system are part of Vermeer’s SmartGrind System, which comes with an infeed over-pressure/auto-reverse function, helping to prevent in-feed
operations from stalling. Stepped screens with holes 4 inches or smaller counteract material recirculation and improve productivity. Material is discharged by a 122cm wide V-cleat conveyor. Vermeer UK 01933 274400 www.vermeeruk.co.uk

Well known for their green waste, wood waste and specialist waste shredding (straw and plastic bottles) machines, the Hannover-based Jenz range of shredders is distributed in the UK by Westcon Equipment. Jenz offer the 100hp AZ 30-80, the 280hp AZ 460, the AZ 660 and the mobile AZ 960 Titan XL, powered by a Mercedes Benz 650hp engine, which is capable of shredding over 100 tonnes per hour. Incorporating technology used in their chippers, Jenz can change all their shredders into (as Karen Haskell of Westcon Equipment puts it) ‘shrippers’. By replacing the carbide- tipped swing hammers with fixed chipping hammers, the ‘shripper’ is easily able to chip a two-foot diameter tree. Screens behind the chipping rotor are used to size the end product. AZ standard features include an Impact Protection System to protect against large steel objects, a variable speed rotor which reduces noise, dust and fuel consumption, and IBC (Intelligent Byte System), which optimises the in-feed speed to maximise capacity. Jenz has just launched its Woodcracker (an add-on unit) that is available in four sizes (600 to 1375mm opening width), for excavators, load-alls, tractors or loading
cranes to be used in combination with the shredders. The Woodcracker cracks large pieces of
trunk wood or roots into manageable sizes for shredders or chippers.
Westcon Equipment 01258 859100 www.westconuk.co.uk

Mid-sized and smaller shredders ArborEater is the UK agent for Pezzolato. The Piranha S7000 feeds green waste into its 0.5 cubic metre hopper via an input conveyer. A hydraulic roller feed compresses and regulates the input of material (maximum diameter 125mm) going to the hammer mill which has 64 double-sided hammers. The machine is fitted with electronic stress control. The S7000 boasts a volume reduction of at least 8:1. The shredded material is screened and exits via an output conveyor. A 360-degree turntable allows the operator to
segregate the recyclable shreddings from those that are contaminated and the input and output conveyors fold away for transport.

The S7000 is available with diesel engine or tractor PTO and is mounted on a twin axle chassis for road towing up to 50 mph.
ArborEater 01273 493 180 www.arboreaters.co.uk

Loma Kompos machines are hammer- type shredders, which, Loma maintains, ‘enable almost any material to be crushed’. The smallest, the Kompos 30H, with its three-point linkage mounting and two hydraulic feed rollers, is especially suited to smaller tractors while the Kompos 30HPM comes with a 35hp water-cooled Lombardini diesel engine.

Hinged in the middle for easier maintenance, the Kompos 50H has a three-point linkage mounting and a 220 x 500mm in-feed shoot and 22 shredding hammers. A 51hp water-cooled Lombardini engine powers the trailed Kompos 50 HPMF which comes with a feeding table complete with inlet chains and is suitable for feeding with a grab or mini loader. The trailed Kompos 80HPMF is powered either by tractor PTO or a 100hp Iveco turbo diesel engine.
AT Osborne 023 8081 4340 www.loma.dk

BearCat offers a range of seven chipper/shredder combinations. The two larger 127mm models are available either as PTO units for use on tractors with an engine capacity of 13 to 45hp (73554), or with onboard 24hp Honda engine (75524). These chipper/shredders are equipped with four reversible chipper blades, 36 shredder knives and 4 thrower blades. Both models have a 360-degree discharge chute with deflector.
Countax Ltd 07740 771003 www.countax.com

Italy’s FAE Group has developed a road-towable shredder particularly suited for the shredding and reducing of volumes of wood pallets, wood packaging, wood waste and prunings. The USL (ultimate strip length) is a PTO-driven (1,000 rpm) compact shredder, able to mulch material up to 25cm in diameter. The computer-operated grinding component is fed by a steel conveyor with hydraulic drive. The grinding process is carried out either by a rotor with swinging hammers (ideal for stony material) or by a rotor with fixed teeth which are capped with ‘long-life’ tungsten-carbide tips. It also comes in a diesel option.
Trailers are supplied on request.
www.fae-group.com

GreenMech introduced their combined chipper/shredder, the roadtowable Eco-Combi ECM150MT35, to the market in the late 1990s, and it promptly won ‘Best New Landscape Product Award’ at Saltex 1998. Powered by a 35hp watercooled diesel engine, the 1200kg
‘no-stress’ power controlled Eco- Combi incorporates GreenMech’s patented disc-blade chipping/ shredding systems. The ‘Disc-Shred’ system uses a series of discs on a shaft rotating inside a drum. The discs are positioned to discharge the material through a screen into the rear of a chipper flywheel and discharge chute. The discs can be rotated as the edges become blunt or damaged.

The chipper has the capacity to chip clean timber up to 150mm through four discs. The shredder (22 discs) processes material contaminated with soil, stones and nails as well as green, wet waste up to 50mm in diameter. In the event of low oil pressure or overheating, the machine shuts down automatically. A bagging cyclone for the chips or shreds is an optional extra.
GreenMech 01789 400044 www.greenmech.co.uk

Timberwolf’s most popular model is the S426 multi-purpose shredder, specifically designed for waste management operators seeking to increase their recycling targets while minimising transport, handling and storage. Weighing 1350kg, the road-towable S426 is powered by a 45hp Kubota V1505T water-cooled turbo diesel engine. Volumes of waste are loaded into the large feed funnel and onto the feed inlet, which measures 426x230mm, and is then fed by hydraulic roller to 18 extrastrength swing hammers.

An autofeed control mechanism monitors the amount of material going into the shredder. If material builds up, an auto back-off mechanism reverses the feed roller slightly, ensuring quick recovery and consistent shredding capacity. The throughput on the S426 is up
to 3 tonnes per hour. Timberwolf 01449 765 800 www.timberwolf-uk.com

The Camon C300 is a road-towable commercial shredder, powered by a 36hp Lombardini diesel engine. It has a shredding capacity of 10 cm using 40 reversible hammers and is recommended for prunings, pallets, branches, paper waste and polystyrene.

For those in the market for small versatile machines, Camon make two chipper-shredders, the C90 and the C150. The C90, powered by a 6.5hp Honda GX200 petrol engine, has a 6cm chipping (1 blade) and shredding (8 blade) capacity. The C150 is powered by a 13hp Honda
GX200 petrol engine and has a 2cm shredding capacity (36 blades) and a 9cm chipping capacity (1 blade). Tracmaster 01444 247689 www.tracmaster.co.uk