Plastic Shredder vs. Tire Shredder: What Are the Differences?

In the recycling industry, many people assume that all shredders are essentially the same—capable of shredding both plastics and tires. But what exactly distinguishes the two?

Below, we outline five key differences.

I. Differences in Material and Design Logic

Plastics: Hard and brittle; prone to cracking under stress. Plastic buckets, pipes, and films all fall into this category.

Tires: Highly elastic, containing internal steel wires. If you compress one, it springs back; if you cut into it with a knife, it deforms first.

2. The Tools Are Completely Different

Plastic Shredder

• Blade Type: Hook/Claw Blades (Sharp and Thin)
• Rotational Speed: 80–150 RPM
• Operation Mode: Impact + Tearing

Tire Shredder

• Blade Type: Circular/Disc Blades (Robust and Thick)
• Rotational Speed: 30–60 RPM
• Operation Mode: Low-Speed ​​Shearing + High Torque

3. The Power Output Differs by An Order of Magnitude.

Plastic Shredder: 15–55 kW, with moderate torque.

Tire Shredder: 75–320 kW, and typically driven by dual motors. For a given shredding width, the power output of a tire shredder is 50% to 100% higher than that of a plastic shredder.

4. Sieving Screens: The Difference Between Having and Not Having Them

Plastic Shredder: Equipped with a screen located underneath to control the size of the output particles.

Tire Shredder: The coarse shredding stage does not utilize a screen. This is because tires are highly elastic; if they were to become jammed in a screen, it would cause the machine to stall. The output size is controlled by adjusting the spacing between the cutter rollers and the number of reverse rotations.

5. Fuselage

Plastic Shredder: Standard wear-resistant steel plates are sufficient.

Tire Shredder: Thickened housing + internal wear-resistant liners. For the same specifications, the tire shredder weighs 2 to 3 times as much as the plastic shredder.

Can they be mixed?

Absolutely not.

Feeding tires into a plastic shredder results in broken blades, a seized main shaft, and a burnt-out motor.

Feeding plastic into a tire shredder results in excessively slow rotation speeds and extremely low efficiency; furthermore, the high torque actually compresses the plastic into a flattened mass.

If you have both plastics and tires that require processing, the most cost-effective solution is to acquire dedicated equipment for each material, rather than relying on a single machine to handle everything.

If you have any further questions regarding these two machines, please feel free to contact Gomine; we would be happy to assist you.