Material guide

Plastic Recycling Sorting Systems for Bottles and Flakes

A plastic recycling line needs a sorting system matched to the stream. Whole bottles are sorted before shredding. After crushing and washing, flakes are sorted by visible color, by PET versus non-PET, or by difficult rigid polymers such as PP, PE and ABS. A stream that needs both material identification and color cleanup uses a combined platform. Place the stream here, then open the machine that fits.

Whole bottlesColor flakesPET purificationMixed rigid polymers

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Mixed color PET flake feed entering optical sorting.

Find your sorter

Four MAS directions — jump straight to a product.

This material guide maps onto four product families — plus the integrated MAS-PC and MAS-PC Pro options when a stream needs material and color sorting together. Pick the one that matches your input form, or read on to confirm it with samples.

MAS-B

Bottle Sorter

Sorts whole bottles before shredding by color, appearance, bottle shape and trained brand features. NIR polymer identification is added on MAS-B Pro.

Mixed whole bottles, including PET and non-PET, before shredding — Whole-bottle sorting

Explore MAS-B

MAS-C

Plastic Color Sorter

Precision flake color sorting for PET and rigid plastics — recovers clear, light-blue and green fractions and removes off-color, opaque and black pieces.

Mixed color PET flakes graded by visible color — Flake color sorting

Explore MAS-C

MAS-P

PET Material Sorter

Removes PVC, PP, PE and other selected non-PET contaminants from prepared PET flakes. It does not sort by visible color.

Purified PET flakes after non-PET removal — PET purification

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MAS-P Pro

Polymer Sorter

Material recognition with multi-spectral analysis separates visually similar rigid flakes — PP, PE, ABS, PS, PC and PMMA.

Look-alike PP and PE rigid flakes separated by material response — Polymer separation

Explore MAS-P Pro

Material forms

Four plastic material forms, four sorting decisions.

A plastic project should not start from a machine name. Separate whole bottles from prepared flakes, then decide whether the boundary is color, polymer type, or both.

Before size reduction · MAS-B

Whole bottle streams

Post-consumer bottles arrive mixed by polymer, color, label condition and deformation. Sorting these before shredding protects flake quality downstream.

Beverage and water bottles
Daily-chemical and oil bottles
Color, shape and brand features
Labels, caps and compression

After preparation · MAS-C

Color flake streams

Washed, dried flakes are graded by visible color and opacity. Clear, light-blue and green fractions are separated from off-color, opaque and black pieces.

Clear and color flakes
Opaque or black pieces
Rigid fragments
Before pelletizing

Material recovery · MAS-P

PET flake streams

When visible color alone cannot define quality, PET flakes are purified by removing selected non-PET polymers — PVC, PP, PE and others.

PET vs non-PET
PVC / PP / PE removal
High-purity PET target
Before color sorting

Difficult polymers · MAS-P Pro

Mixed rigid polymer streams

PP, PE, PS, ABS, PC and PMMA can look identical after washing. MAS-P Pro separates them by material recognition. If the same stream also needs color or black-flake cleanup, that is MAS-PC Pro.

PP / PE polyolefins
ABS / PS engineering plastics
PC / PMMA transparent rigid
Rigid flakes and regrind

Sample explorer

See the feed, accepted product and reject classes.

Switch between material families on the left tabs, then click any class to swap the sample on the left — feed, accepted product, recovered fractions and reject classes from real MAS sorting examples.

Recovering a clean bottle stream from mixed intake, decided before shredding.

Mixed PET and non-PET whole bottle feed — Incoming feed

Mixed feed

Incoming whole bottles — PET mixed with non-PET, labeled, capped and compressed examples.

Accepted and reject classes are always confirmed on your representative samples before a configuration is quoted.

Reject and contaminant classes

What the recipe is asked to remove.

These classes are defined during sample review. The mix of off-color, off-polymer and foreign material is what makes one plastic stream different from another.

Off-color pieces

Fragments outside the accepted color and transparency range — yellowed, amber or mixed-tone pieces that break a clear or light-blue target.

Opaque and black fragments

Opaque, milky and carbon-black pieces that reduce clarity. Carbon-black also absorbs the NIR signal and needs a visible-light or sample-led approach.

Non-PET polymers

PVC, PP, PE, PS, PA, ABS-FR, PMMA, PC/alloy and similar polymers that contaminate a PET stream and must be removed for high-purity recovery.

Labels, caps and films

Label fragments, ring caps, sleeves and film pieces that change visible appearance and the practical sorting boundary.

Visible contaminants

Dirt, metal fragments, paper, wood and other non-plastic foreign material introduced through collection and handling.

Look-alike borderlines

Transparent, light-blue, milky and dirty pieces that look similar but require different accept/reject decisions — the reason borderline samples matter.

Sample-led from the start

Send a representative plastic stream before choosing a sorter.

Accepted, rejected and borderline examples turn this material guide into a real configuration direction across MAS-B, MAS-C, MAS-P and MAS-P Pro.

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Match a sorter

From material form to MAS direction.

Match the input form and accept/reject decision to a product direction — avoid choosing by plastic name alone.

Processing needInspection focusProduct directionWhen to use it

Whole-bottle class sorting before shreddingBottle color, shape, label and brand; polymer identification on MAS-B ProMAS-B Bottle SorterUse before shredding — not for flakes.

Visible color cleanup in flakesColor, opacity, black pieces and visible appearanceMAS-C Plastic Color SorterWhen color, not polymer, is the decision.

PET flake purificationPET vs selected non-PET material responseMAS-P PET Material SorterBring representative non-PET reject samples.

Difficult mixed-polymer separationMulti-spectral polymer recognition (PP vs PE, ABS…)MAS 3D Polymer SorterFor non-PET polymers a basic sorter can't separate; add MAS-C or MAS-PC Pro if color also matters.

PET flakes: remove non-PET AND off-color flakesNIR material response + visible colorMAS-PC (material + color)One platform for PET purification plus color cleanup.

Difficult polymers AND color / black cleanupMulti-spectral material + visible colorMAS-PC Pro (material + color)Adds color sorting to MAS-P Pro material recognition.

Recommended technologies

The inspection layers a plastic stream may need.

Not every machine uses every layer. The combination is selected for the material, the reject classes and the line.

Visible-light inspection

What it observes: Color, transparency, opacity and visible surface appearance of bottles and flakes.
What it cannot confirm: Cannot confirm polymer type on its own — a color-correct piece can still be the wrong material.
Why material testing is required: Color boundaries shift with lighting, flake size, moisture and contamination, so the recipe is set on real samples.

AI-assisted recognition

What it observes: Complex, overlapping appearance classes that are hard to express as a single color rule.
What it cannot confirm: Decisions remain operator-validated; it does not autonomously guarantee quality.
Why material testing is required: Defect and accept classes must be built from the customer's own accepted, rejected and borderline examples.

NIR material recognition

What it observes: Polymer signature by near-infrared response — separating PET, PVC, PP, PE, PS, ABS, PC and others.
What it cannot confirm: Cannot reliably read black or carbon-black plastics, which absorb the signal.
Why material testing is required: Accuracy depends on validated spectral libraries, clean dry flow and periodic calibration confirmed by testing.

Lighting and ejector control

What it observes: Recipe timing windows and reject actuation tuned to particle position and flow.
What it cannot confirm: Reject behavior depends on air supply, material speed and stream spread.
Why material testing is required: Ejection timing is documented per material test rather than copied across unrelated streams.

Buyer questions

Plastic recycling sorting FAQ.

Can one machine handle bottles, color flakes, PET purification and mixed polymers?

No. The product direction is chosen by input form and target decision. Whole bottles (MAS-B), color flakes (MAS-C), PET material sorting (MAS-P) and difficult mixed polymers (MAS-P Pro) have different handling and inspection requirements.

Is MAS-B used for PET flakes?

No. MAS-B is framed for whole-bottle sorting before size reduction. Flake projects should be reviewed under MAS-C, MAS-P or MAS-P Pro.

Can MAS-C identify polymer type?

MAS-C is positioned around visible color and appearance sorting. Polymer identification and material separation should be reviewed under MAS-P or MAS-P Pro, where the selected configuration supports it.

When is MAS-P Pro the right direction instead of MAS-P?

MAS-P targets PET purification by removing selected non-PET. MAS-P Pro is for streams where several rigid polymers (PP, PE, PS, ABS, PC, PMMA) look alike and must be separated by material. If the same stream also needs color cleanup or black-flake rejection, that is MAS-PC Pro.

Can black or carbon-black plastics be sorted by NIR?

NIR cannot reliably read carbon-black plastics because they absorb the signal. Those streams are reviewed with visible-light and sample-led approaches, and the result is confirmed by testing.

Why do I need accept, reject and borderline samples?

Transparent, light-blue, milky and dirty pieces can look similar while needing different decisions. Representative accepted, rejected and borderline examples are what define a stable recipe boundary.

Can these pages guarantee purity, throughput or recovery?

No. Those values are only discussed after sample testing, selected configuration and line context are confirmed. Public pages avoid unverified performance claims.

How do I choose the right plastic recycling sorter?

Start from material form, not a machine name. Whole bottles → MAS-B; prepared flakes → decide the boundary: visible color only → MAS-C; PET vs non-PET → MAS-P; PET plus color → MAS-PC; difficult polymers (PP/PE, ABS/PS) → MAS-P Pro; difficult polymers plus color → MAS-PC Pro.

What is the difference between whole-bottle sorting and flake sorting?

Whole-bottle sorting (MAS-B / MAS-B Pro) happens before shredding, while color, shape, label and material direction are still readable. Flake sorting (MAS-C / MAS-P / MAS-PC / MAS-P Pro / MAS-PC Pro) happens after crushing and washing, for higher-purity flake purification.

When should I choose MAS-PC or MAS-PC Pro instead of MAS-P or MAS-P Pro?

Choose the PC versions when the same flake stream needs both material sorting and visible color cleanup in one platform. MAS-PC adds color to MAS-P (PET purification); MAS-PC Pro adds color to MAS-P Pro (difficult polymers).

Can MAS plastic sorters process plastic pellets or soft film?

No. These are chute-type systems for whole bottles or rigid flakes and fragments. Pellets bounce in the chute, making recognition and ejection unstable, and soft film is too light for controlled air ejection — even after shredding.

AI visual preview

Preview plastic sorting online

Upload plastic images and see an indicative accept/reject visualization before committing to a physical test.

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Real material test

Confirm the direction on your own stream

A representative sample test defines the MAS direction, recipe boundary and reject classes for your line.

Request a real material test