Industrial sourcing · China to Europe

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Buyer guide · Recycling

Waste sorting line from China

A waste sorting line is a chain of separate machines, and the listings we checked named almost none of them, so two offers under the same name can contain entirely different sorting stages.

Ask about this machine ↗Where the numbers come from

Written and listings checked 1 October 2026. Every figure on this page names its source.

What you are actually comparing.

Two quotes, one machine name

What hides inside the price

Stages in the chain

Bag opener, trommel screen, manual picking cabin, magnet, eddy current, air separator, ballistic separator and optical sorter. Ask which are in scope, in order, on a flow chart.

Manual or optical picking

Manual cabins need staff each shift. Optical sorters cost more and need clean, spread material. Ask the picking positions or the sorter width.

Waste type the line is drawn for

Municipal, construction and demolition, and commercial waste need different lines. Ask which one the design is based on.

Conveyors and structure

Ask belt widths, steel structure, walkways and whether the building or cabins are included.

Before you ask for a price.

Send these with the enquiry. Without them, any number a factory gives you is a guess dressed as a quotation.

Your waste type and a composition estimate by weight.
Tonnes per day and hours of operation.
Which fractions you sell and to whom.
Staff available for manual picking.
Building size, height and power supply.

Turn the claim into a demonstration.

Require this	A pass looks like
Visit a running line of the same design on similar waste.	Line running at stated tonnage, with picking positions staffed as in your plan.
Weigh each output fraction during a timed run.	Fraction purity inside the limits your buyers set, checked by sample.
Stop the line from each emergency stop.	Every conveyor in the chain stops together.

The documents that must arrive with it.

One EU Declaration of Conformity for the line as an assembly, under 2006/42/EC until 19 January 2027, then Regulation (EU) 2023/1230.
The flow chart and layout naming every machine in scope.
Electrical drawings with low voltage 2014/35/EU and EMC 2014/30/EU references.

When this is the wrong machine.

Buy something else if

Named, not hedged

Your stream is mainly electronics.

An e-waste separation line, built for boards and devices.

Your stream is only glass.

A glass crusher machine after a simple picking belt.

Where the numbers come from.

We name the kind of source, how many and when, and never the factory. Listed prices are asking prices, not landed cost. Where we do not hold a fact we say so: that is a GAP, not an estimate.

Listings · 13Thirteen waste sorting line listings in one marketplace search, checked October 2026, advertised asking prices from US$1,500 to US$2,000,000. None stated a capacity or named an optical sorter. Asking prices, not landed cost.
Listings · 13In the same thirteen listings, one named its stages, a bag opener, trommel screen and manual sorting platform, and five were titled for PET bottles or plastic film rather than mixed waste.
GAPGAP - no supplier quotations logged for this machine yet. Three to five quotations for one configuration would give a real price spread.

Related machines.

E waste separation line. Choose an e-waste line when electronics are your main input.
Glass crusher machine. Add a glass crusher after sorting when you sell glass.

Every machine we source in this area is on the Recycling page. How a project runs, stage by stage, is on how it works, and what it costs is on pricing.

Straight answers

Questions buyers ask about this machine.

Chinese vs European waste sorting line: where do they differ?+

In stage selection, optical sorters and service. Compare the flow charts stage by stage.

What does a waste sorting line factory audit look at?+

Conveyor fabrication, which separators are made in house, and a running reference line.

What CE documentation does a sorting line need?+

One Declaration of Conformity for the assembly. Separate marks on each conveyor do not cover the line.

Who is the EU importer?+

The business placing it on the EU market. Your waste permit stays your matter as operator.

Contact

Tell us what you need.

Send a machine, a quotation you want checked, or a question. We reply with what we would look at first.