Patent ID: 7381271

Claim:
A colorant dispensing system for adding colorant to pre-comminuted material comprising: a supply hopper to retain and discharge dry colorant; a colorant dispensing assembly to receive dry colorant from said supply hopper and dispense dry colorant onto pre-comminuted material (M) before it is processed by a waste reducing section of a waste reducing machine; wherein said colorant dispensing assembly includes a feed hopper having at least one aperture to dispense dry colorant, a gate movably engaged to said feed hopper to selectively permit the release of dry colorant from said at least one aperture, and a control module operatively engaged to said gate to control the rate at which dry colorant is dispensed from said at least one aperture; and wherein said control module further includes a colorant sensor operatively engaged to said feed hopper to sense when the level of colorant within said feed hopper is less than a predetermined minimum level and a feed sensor operatively engaged to the waste reducing machine to sense the rate at which pre-comminuted material is fed toward the waste reducing section of the waste reducing machine.