Shredding apparatus for waste materials

Abstract

The invention contemplates a shredding apparatus for waste materials such as residential, municipal and industrial trash and solid wastes. The shredding apparatus for waste materials comprises: a housing chamber (102) comprising an open top for receiving the waste materials and a bottom with an exit opening through which the waste materials exit; at least a pair of counter-rotating shafts (106) disposed relative to the housing chamber (102), each shaft (106) comprising a plurality of blades along the shaft (106), wherein the counter-rotating shafts (106) are configured to shred the waste materials received through the open top of the housing chamber (102) by the blades to a predetermined size before exiting via the exit opening; and a reinforcing structure for supporting the housing chamber (102), thereby enabling the shredding apparatus to accommodate the need to manage and shred massive amounts of waste materials.

Description

SHREDDING APPARATUS FOR WASTE MATERIALSFIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The invention relates to a waste processing apparatus. In more particular, the invention relates to a shredding apparatus for waste materials such as residential, municipal and industrial trash and solid wastes.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Commercial, industrial and residential consumers generate large amounts of trash and solid waste products that need to be handled and disposed of in an environmentally satisfactory manner. Traditionally, the waste materials are disposed of by depositing them on land or in landfills. It is also often preferred to shred the waste materials to reduce their size before they are being deposited in landfills.

[0003] Various apparatuses for shredding waste materials have been introduced in the art. For example, the systems described in U.S. Pat. No. US 9,555,415 B2 and U.S. Pat. No. US 7,988,830 B2 are each provided with a shredder for reducing the size of the wastes. However, a number of limitations arise in relation to the shredders described in these patent documents. For instance, such shredders are only suitable for small-scale shredding operations, and hence are not best-suited for highly efficient and effective very large volume waste processing operations.

[0004] Therefore, it is of interest in this invention to devise a shredding apparatus that can accommodate massive-scale shredding operations.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] One of the objects of the invention is to provide an apparatus suitable for shredding waste materials such as residential, municipal and industrial trash and solid wastes at a waste material processing and / or storage site, such as a landfill site.

[0006] Another object of the invention is to provide a shredding apparatus that can accommodate the needs to manage and shred massive amounts of waste materials, and / orwhich has a very large or massive waste material throughput and shredded waste material production rate (which can be at least 20 ton / h).

[0007] At least one of the preceding objects is met, in whole or in part, by the invention, in which one of the embodiments of the invention describes a shredding apparatus for waste materials, comprising a housing chamber comprising an open top for receiving the waste materials and a bottom with an exit opening through which shredded waste waste materials exit; at least a pair of counter-rotating shafts disposable or disposed (e.g., disposed in parallel and lengthwise or longitudinally) relative to or within the housing chamber, each shaft comprising a plurality of blades carried by or along the shaft, wherein the counter-rotating shafts are configured to shred the waste materials received through the open top of the housing chamber by the blades to a predetermined size before the shredded waste materials exit via the exit opening; characterized in that the shredding apparatus further comprises a reinforcing structure for supporting the housing chamber; wherein the reinforcing structure comprises reinforcing formations and / or members arranged such that opposite sides of the housing chamber can each be disposed on a reinforcing formation and / or member.

[0008] At least one reinforcing formation and / or member, or each reinforcing formation and / or member, can be tapered along its vertical extent or height in such a way that its upper portion has a greater or smaller cross-sectional area or diameter (e.g, perpendicular cross- sectional area relative to its vertical extent or height) or than its lower portion. Alternatively, one or more reinforcing formations and / or members can be non-tapered along the vertical extent or height thereof (e.g., one or more reinforcing formations and / or members can have an essentially uniform or uniform / constant width or thickness along the vertical extent or height thereof).

[0009] Preferably, a waste material receiving structure such as a hopper (e.g., a detachable hopper) is disposed above or on the housing chamber for receiving and directing the waste materials to the open top of the housing chamber.

[0010] Preferably, a shredded waste material delivery apparatus or device, including or such as a chute, is associated with or disposed below (e.g., connected to) the exit opening of the housing chamber for, and is configured to guide, transfer, transport, or deliver theshredded waste materials toward or to a conveyor associated with or which is disposed below the housing chamber.

[0011] Preferably , each opposite side of the housing chamber is mounted on top of the reinforcing formation and / or member. Alternatively, each opposite side of the housing chamber is disposed at an intermediate portion of the reinforcing formation and / or member.

[0012] Preferably, the reinforcing formation and / or member includes or is a concrete reinforcing member or a steel reinforced concrete reinforcing member. A reinforcing formation and / or member can additionally or alternatively include or be one or more portions of an in-earth-based formation, for instance, portions of a geologic formation, such as portions of a rock formation (e.g., a rock wall) configured to at least partially carry or support the housing chamber).

[0013] Also in relation to the foregoing, at least one of the above objects is met, in whole or part, by the invention, in which one of the embodiments thereof describes a method for shredding waste materials, the method comprising: (a) providing at a waste material processing and / or storage site a shredding apparatus configured to shred industrial, commercial, and / or residential waste materials, wherein the shredding apparatus comprises elements or combinations of elements such as set forth above (e.g., in any operatable or operational configuration), for instance, a set of housing chambers (e.g., at least one housing chamber, or a plurality of group of housing chambers), each housing chamber having an openable or open top configured to receive the commercial, industrial, and / or residential waste materials, and a bottom with an exit opening through which shredded waste materials exit; and at least a pair of counter-rotating shafts disposable or disposed within each housing chamber, each shaft comprising a plurality of blades along the shaft, wherein the counterrotating shafts of a given housing chamber are configured to shred the waste materials received through the open top of the housing chamber by the blades to a predetermined size before the shredded waste materials exit via the exit opening of the housing chamber; characterized in that the shredding apparatus further comprises a reinforcing structure for supporting the set of housing chambers, wherein the reinforcing structure comprises reinforcing members arranged such that opposite sides of each housing chamber can each be carried by or disposed on a reinforcing member; and optionally wherein at least one or eachreinforcing member is tapered in such a way that its upper portion has a greater or smaller perpendicular cross-sectional area relative to its vertical extent or diameter than its lower portion; (b) supplying the commercial, industrial, and / or residential waste materials to the set of housing chambers of the waste material shredding apparatus; (c) shredding the commercial, industrial, and / or residential waste materials by way of the counter-rotating shafts of at least one housing chamber at a rate of at least 20 tons of the commercial, industrial, and / or residential waste materials per hour to produce at least one flow of shredded waste materials output by the at least one housing chamber; (d) shredding the commercial, industrial, and / or residential waste materials by way of the counter-rotating shafts of at least one housing chamber at a rate of at least 20 tons of the commercial, industrial, and / or residential waste materials per hour to produce at least one flow of shredded waste materials output by the at least one housing chamber; and (e) providing the at least one flow of shredded waste materials to a set of shredded waste material delivery devices disposed below each housing chamber, wherein the set of shredded waste material delivery devices is configured to deliver the at least one flow of shredded waste materials to at least one conveyor disposed below the set of housing chambers.

[0014] The wherein the set of shredded waste material delivery devices can comprise at least one chute corresponding to the set of housing chambers.

[0015] Supplying the industrial, commercial, and / or residential waste materials to the set of housing chambers can occur by way of one or more waste transfer or transport vehicles, wherein each waste transfer or transport vehicle includes at least one waste material carrying receptacle or compartment.

[0016] The set of housing chambers can include a plurality of housing chambers, wherein the method further comprises supplying the industrial, commercial, and / or residential waste materials to each of the plurality of housing chambers in tandem or concurrently by way of multiple waste transfer or transport vehicles operating in tandem or concurrently, respectively, wherein each waste transfer or transport vehicle includes at least one waste material carrying receptacle or compartment.

[0017] Further in relation to the foregoing, shredding the commercial, industrial, and / or residential waste materials by way of the counter-rotating shafts of at least one housingchamber at a rate of at least 20 tons of the commercial, industrial, and / or residential waste materials per hour to produce at least one flow of shredded waste materials output by the at least one housing chamber can comprise shredding the commercial, industrial, and / or residential waste materials by way of the counter-rotating shafts at a rate of at least 48 tons, or at least 72 tons, or at least 144 tons of the commercial, industrial, and / or residential waste materials per hour per housing chamber or per group of housing chambers.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] The invention will be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0019] Figure 1 shows a partial sectional view of a shredding apparatus for waste materials according to one embodiment;

[0020] Figure 2 shows a partial sectional view of a shredding apparatus for waste materials according to another embodiment;

[0021] Figure 3 shows a plurality of housing chambers disposed on reinforcing members of the shredding apparatus;

[0022] Figure 4 shows a plurality of housing chambers disposed on different structures of reinforcing members;

[0023] Figure 5 show a plurality of housing chambers each provided with a pair of rotating shafts and disposed on the top of reinforcing members of the shredding apparatus, according to one embodiment;

[0024] Figure 6 shows a housing chamber disposed at an alternative intermediate portion of the reinforcing members;

[0025] Figure 7 shows a plurality of shredding apparatuses arranged in parallel to each other for shredding waste materials;

[0026] Figure 8 shows a plurality of shredding apparatuses having different structures of reinforcing members arranged in parallel to each other for shredding waste materials;DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0027] Hereinafter, the invention shall be described according to the preferred embodiments of the invention and by referring to the accompanying description and associated Figures 1-8. It is, however, to be understood that limiting the description to the preferred embodiments of the invention and to the drawings is merely to facilitate discussion of the invention and that it is envisioned that those skilled in the art may devise various modifications without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

[0028] The invention contemplates an apparatus suitable for shredding waste materials (100) such as residential, municipal and industrial trash and solid wastes, in association with one or more associated shredding operations.

[0029] Preferably, the shredding apparatus comprises at least a housing chamber (102). For instance, the shredding apparatus may comprise one housing chamber (102). Alternatively, the shredding apparatus may comprise more than one housing chamber (102), for instance, multiple housing chambers (102) arranged in a side-by-side type of configuration (e.g., spaced apart from each other) and / or in parallel with each other, as shown in Figure 5. However, for purpose of simplicity to aid understanding and ease of description, particular embodiments will be described hereafter with respect to a shredding apparatus having only one housing chamber (102).

[0030] The housing chamber (102) comprises an open top for receiving the waste materials (100), as shown in Figures 1-2. A hopper, such as a detachable hopper (not shown), can optionally be disposed above or on top of the housing chamber (102) such that the waste materials (100) are properly received and / or directed toward or to the open top of the housing chamber (102). The hopper may also function to prevent the waste materials (100) from bouncing or being ejected out of the shredding apparatus (e.g., along one or more upward directions) during the shredding operation.

[0031] The housing chamber (102) also comprises a bottom with an exit opening through which the waste materials (100) exit. The bottom is preferably tapered as shown in Figure 2, so that the waste materials (100) are dropped and directed by the tapered surface of the bottom to the exit opening under the influence of gravity. A chute (112) can also be provided anddisposed beneath or connected to the exit opening for transporting the waste materials (100) to a conveyor (116) disposed below the housing chamber (102). The waste materials (100) will be transported by the conveyor (116) to another processing apparatus for further processing.

[0032] Within the housing chamber (102), there is at least a rotatable or rotating shaft (106), (e.g., an elongate shaft) disposable or disposed within the housing chamber (102), with a plurality of blades carried by or disposed along one or more portions of the shaft (106) (e.g., protruding from the shaft (106) in outward or radial directions). Preferably, the rotating shaft or rotating shafts (106) are disposed lengthwise or longitudinally relative to each other with respect to or within the housing chamber (102) (and in parallel to each other if there are more than one rotating shaft (106) in the housing chamber (102)). In certain embodiments, the rotatable or rotating shaft(s) (106) can be configured to be vertically lowerable or lowered into and vertically raisable or raised out of the housing chamber (102).

[0033] If only one rotating shaft (106) is disposed within the housing chamber (102), the inner surface of the housing chamber (102) is typically also configured to carry or is provided with a plurality of blades configured to act as “counter-blades”, so that the waste materials (100) positioned between the rotating shaft and the inner surface of the housing chamber (102) can be shredded to a selectable / selected or predetermined size of shredded waste materials (200) (e.g., within a selectable or predetermined size range, including or such as less than or equal to a target size).

[0034] Alternatively, if more than one rotating shaft (106) is disposed within the housing chamber (102), a plurality of blades can optionally be provided to the inner surface of the housing chamber (102). However, it is essential to configure such rotating shafts (106) to operate as a counter-rotating mechanism. For instance, if a pair of rotating shafts (106) are disposed within the housing chamber (102), one of the shafts (106) is configured to rotate in a clockwise direction and the other shaft (106) to rotate in a counter-clockwise direction. Thereby, the waste materials (100) received through the open top of the housing chamber (102) will be shredded by the blades of the rotating shafts (106) to a predetermined size of shredded waste materials (200) (e.g., within a predetermined size range) before exiting through the exit opening. With respect to a pair of shafts (106) configured to cooperativelycounter-rotate to enable waste material shredding, the blades of a given shaft (106) can be configured to operate as “counter blades” relative to the blades of the other shaft (106).

[0035] Preferably, the housing chamber (102) is further coupled to or provided with a reinforcing structure. Presence of such reinforcing structure is particularly essential because the waste materials (100) (particularly the residential, municipal and industrial trash and solid wastes) are often heavy and large in size. Importantly, by providing the housing chamber (102) with a reinforcing structure, it can accommodate the need to manage and shred massive amounts of waste materials (100) and / or shred waste materials (100) at a massive rate, such as at least 20 ton / h of waste materials (100). However, it is to be understood that more than 20 ton / h of waste materials (100) may be shredded depending embodiment details, such as the configuration and / or size of the housing chamber (102), and / or if more than one housing chamber (102) is provided to the apparatus. For instance, the apparatus can be configured to accommodate and shred waste materials (100) at a rate of least 20 ton / h of waste materials (100) (e.g., per housing chamber (102)); or at least 48 ton / h, at least 72 ton / h, or at least 144 ton / h of waste materials (100) per housing chamber (102) or per group of housing chambers (102), depending upon embodiment details.

[0036] The reinforcing structure mentioned in the foregoing preferably comprises a set of reinforcing formations and / or members (110), at least one or each of which can be tapered or frusto-conically shaped along its vertical extent or height in such a way that its upper portion has a greater cross-sectional area or diameter (e.g., perpendicular cross-sectional area relative to its vertical extent or height) or a smaller cross-sectional area or diameter (e.g., perpendicular cross-sectional area relative to its vertical extent or height) than its lower portion. In certain embodiments, one or more reinforcing formations and / or members (110) can be non-tapered along the vertical extent or height thereof (e.g., one or more reinforcing formations and / or members (110) can have an essentially uniform or uniform / constant width or thickness along the vertical extent or height thereof).

[0037] Some examples of the reinforcing formations and / or members (110) in accordance with particular non-limiting representative embodiments are shown in Figures 3-4. The reinforcing formations and / or members (110) are also arranged such that opposite sides (i.e.,either the left and right lateral sides or the left and right longitudinal sides) of the housing chamber (102) can each be disposed on a reinforcing formation and / or member (110).

[0038] In some embodiments, each opposite side of the housing chamber (102) is mounted on top of the reinforcing formation and / or member (110) and optionally affixed thereto by using appropriate affixing means such as by welding, screws, bolts, etc.

[0039] In some embodiments, each opposite side of the housing chamber (102) is disposed at an intermediate portion of the reinforcing formation and / or member (110). For instance, the opposite side of the housing chamber (102) is directly affixed to the intermediate portion of the reinforcing formation and / or member (110) by appropriate affixing means such as by welding, screws, bolts, etc. Alternatively, each reinforcing formation and / or member (110) is provided with a space or recess at its intermediate portion and sufficiently large to accommodate an opposite side of the housing chamber (102). The opposite side of the housing chamber (102) can also be optionally affixed to a space of the reinforcing formation and / or member (110) by using appropriate affixing means such as by welding, screws, bolts, etc.

[0040] Although not mentioned in the foregoing, it is appreciated that the reinforcing formation and / or member (110) includes or is a concrete reinforcing member and / or a steel reinforced concrete reinforcing member. In at least some embodiments, the reinforcing formation and / or member (110) includes one or more structurally reinforced concrete portions or elements. Additionally or alternatively, the reinforcing formation and / or member (110) can include or be one or more portions of an in-earth-based formation, for instance, portions of a geologic formation, such as portions of a rock formation (e.g., a rock wall) configured or shaped to at least partially carry or support one or more housing chambers (102)). For purpose of simplicity, a reinforcing formation and / or member (110) can simply be referred to or defined as as a reinforcing member (110).

[0041] It is also appreciated that if more than one housing chamber (102) is present, the housing chambers (102) may all be mounted on top of the reinforcing structure or particularly the reinforcing members (110), as shown in Figure 5. Alternatively, one or more of the housing chambers (102) (e.g., each of the housing chambers (102)) may be disposed at an intermediate portion of the reinforcing members (110).

[0042] In some embodiments, the reinforcing structure or particularly the reinforcing members (110) may be disposed above and / or under the ground (e.g., below the local surface or surface level of the earth). For instance, the reinforcing members (110) may form portions or and / or be disposed in a pit that extends above ground and / or underground (e.g., a concretebased, concrete-lined, or concrete pit that may be entirely above ground, or partly above ground, majority below ground, essentially below ground, or entirely below ground). In some embodiments, the reinforcing members (110) have a vertical extent or height of approximately 1.2 meters to 1.5 meters, for instance, at least 1 meter.

[0043] In further embodiments, the intermediate portion corresponding to or of the reinforcing members (110) is preferably positioned relative to or at the reinforcing members (110) at about 40-60% from the depth of the pit or the bottom of the reinforcing members (110) (e.g., above the bottom of the pit by about 40-60% of the depth of the pit, or above the bottom of the reinforcing members(l 10) by about 40-60% of the vertical extent or height of the reinforcing members(l lO)) as shown in Figure 6. This arrangement ensures that the shredding apparatus has sufficient space to hold efficiently and effectively shred waste materials (100).

[0044] Additionally, more than one shredding apparatus described in the foregoing may be provided, as shown in Figures 7-8, thereby increasing the total amount or volume of waste materials (100) that can be shredded (e.g., per interval or unit of time, such as per hour, day, week, or month).

[0045] Industrial, commercial, and / or residential waste materials (100) can be delivered, provided, or supplied to one or more housing chambers (102) by way of one or more waste transfer or transport vehicles, each of which includes at least one waste matrial carrying receptacle or compartment. Depending upon embodiment details, the one or more waste transfer vehicles can comprise or be a waste material carrying truck such as a garbage truck; a locomotive driven train having one or more train or rail cars into which waste materials (100) have been loaded; a ship or barge; and / or an excavator having a bucket into which waste materials (100) can be loaded, transferred, and unloaded. In waste material shredding apparatus embodiments providing multiple housing chambers (102), the industrial, commercial, and / or residential waste materials (100) can be supplied to multiple or a groupof housing chambers (102) in tandem or concurrently (e.g., in a temporally overalapping or simultaneous manner) by way of multiple waste transfer or transport vehicles operating in tandem or concurrently (e.g., in a temporally overalapping or simultaneous manner), respectively.

[0046] In certain embodiments, a waste material shredding apparatus can be located and used at a central waste material processing site, which waste transfer or transport vehicles can access by way of land and / or water (e.g., a roadway, a railway, and / or a port along a waterway). In such embodiments, industrial, commercial, and / or residential waste materials (100) can be shredded at the central waste material processing site before further transport of shredded waste materials (200) to one or more shredded waste material disposal sit*es such as a number of landfills.

[0047] The disclosure includes the appended claims, as well as the foregoing description and corresponding Figures. Although this invention has been described in its preferred form with a degree of particularity, it is understood that the disclosure of the preferred form has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction and the combination and arrangements of parts may be resorted to without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A shredding apparatus configured to shred industrial, consumer, and / or residential waste materials (100), comprising: a housing chamber (102) comprising an openable or open top configured to receive the waste materials and a bottom with an exit opening through which shredded waste materials (200) exit; and at least a pair of counter-rotating shafts (106) disposable or disposed within the housing chamber (102), each shaft (106) comprising a plurality of blades along the shaft (106), wherein the counter-rotating shafts (106) are configured to shred the waste materials (100) received through the open top of the housing chamber (102) by the blades to a predetermined size before the shredded waste materials (200) exit via the exit opening; characterized in that the shredding apparatus further comprises a reinforcing structure for supporting the housing chamber (102); wherein the reinforcing structure comprises reinforcing members (110) arranged such that opposite sides of the housing chamber (102) can each be carried by or disposed on a reinforcing member (110).

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one or each reinforcing member (110) is tapered in such a way that its upper portion has a greater or smaller perpendicular cross-sectional area relative to its vertical extent or diameter than its lower portion.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a hopper disposed above or on the housing chamber (102) for receiving and directing the waste materials (100) to the open top of the housing chamber (102), optionally wherein the hopper is detachable.

4. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a chute (112) disposed below or connected to the exit opening of the housing chamber (102) and configured to transport the shredded waste materials (200) to a conveyor (116) which is disposed below the housing chamber (102).

5. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein each opposite side of the housing chamber (102) is mounted on top of the reinforcing member (110).

6. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein each opposite side of the housing chamber (102) is disposed at an intermediate portion of the reinforcing member (HO).

7. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4 or claim 5 or claim 6, wherein the reinforcing member (110) includes or is a concrete reinforcing member or a steel reinforced concrete reinforcing member.

8. A method for shredding waste materials (100), comprising: providing at a waste material processing and / or storage site a shredding apparatus configured to shred industrial, commercial, and / or residential waste materials (100), the shredding apparatus comprising: a set of housing chambers (102), each housing chamber (102) having an openable or open top configured to receive the commercial, industrial, and / or residential waste materials (100), and a bottom with an exit opening through which shredded waste materials (200) exit; and at least a pair of counter-rotating shafts (106) disposable or disposed within each housing chamber (102), each shaft (106) comprising a plurality of blades along the shaft (106), wherein the counter-rotating shafts (106) of a given housing chamber (102) are configured to shred the waste materials (100) received through the open top of the housing chamber (102) by the blades to a predetermined size before the shredded waste materials (200) exit via the exit opening of the housing chamber (102); characterized in that the shredding apparatus further comprises a reinforcing structure for supporting the set of housing chambers (102), wherein the reinforcing structure comprises reinforcing members (110) arranged such that opposite sides of each housing chamber (102) can each be carried by or disposed on a reinforcing member (110),and optionally wherein at least one or each reinforcing member (110) is is tapered in such a way that its upper portion has a greater or smaller perpendicular cross-sectional area relative to its vertical extent or diameter than its lower portion; supplying the commercial, industrial, and / or residential waste materials (100) to the set of housing chambers (120) of the waste material shredding apparatus; shredding the commercial, industrial, and / or residential waste materials (100) by way of the counter-rotating shafts (106) of at least one housing chamber (102) at a rate of at least 20 tons of the commercial, industrial, and / or residential waste materials (100) per hour to produce at least one flow of shredded waste materials (200) output by the at least one housing chamber (102); and providing the at least one flow of shredded waste materials (200) to a set of shredded waste material delivery devices disposed below each housing chamber (102), wherein the set of shredded waste material delivery devices is configured to deliver the at least one flow of shredded waste materials (200) to at least one conveyor disposed below the set of housing chambers (102).

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the set of shredded waste material delivery devices comprises at least one chute corresponding to the set of housing chambers (102).

10. The method of claim 8 or 9, further comprising: supplying the industrial, commercial, and / or residential waste materials (100) to the set of housing chambers (102) by way of one or more waste transfer or transport vehicles, wherein each waste transfer or transport vehicle includes at least one waste material carrying receptacle or compartment.

11. The method of claim 8 or 9, wherein the set of housing chambers (102) includes a plurality of housing chambers (102), and wherein the method further comprises: supplying the industrial, commercial, and / or residential waste materials (100) to each of the plurality of housing chambers (102) in tandem or concurrently by way of multiple waste transfer or transport vehicles operating in tandem or concurrently, respectively, whereineach waste transfer or transport vehicle includes at least one waste material carrying receptacle or compartment.

12. The method of any one of claims 8 - 11, wherein shredding the commercial, industrial, and / or residential waste materials (100) by way of the counter-rotating shafts (106) of at least one housing chamber (102) at a rate of at least 20 tons of the commercial, industrial, and / or residential waste materials (100) per hour to produce at least one flow of shredded waste materials (200) output by the at least one housing chamber (102) comprises shredding the commercial, industrial, and / or residential waste materials (100) by way of the counter- rotating shafts (106) at a rate of at least 48 tons, or at least 72 tons, or at least 144 tons of the commercial, industrial, and / or residential waste materials (100) per hour per housing chamber (102) or per group of housing chambers (102).

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