One of the challenges for recycling facilities is to separate a variety of items amid strict guidelines. As a result, innovations in sorting technologies are essential for optimizing recycling and reducing waste.
A new artificial intelligence-based sorting sensor could revolutionize how facilities can gather real-time data and classify materials, according to Plastics News. Two German companies, BRT Hartner and RTT System, developed the AI-supported platform, which can identify and sort items with more precision than conventional sorting technologies.
Called the BRT Hartner Automatic Sorter, the system uses a hyperspectral imaging camera, a device that conventional systems lack. Thanks to the HSI, the sorter can capture "high-resolution spatial and spectral data across multiple bands," Plastics News explained. This is especially important when sorting difficult items such as fine plastics and lightweight packaging.
"Another advantage of sensor fusion technology is the high degree of flexibility," RTT System Managing Director Hendrik Beel said. "This means that new sensors can be integrated into the system at any time at raw data level. This applies, for example, to the retrofitting of 3D sensors, metal sensors, or future marker technologies."
The technology not only solves waste-sorting challenges but is also designed to meet future needs with the ability to add AI layers.
Waste sorting and management are essential for ensuring a cleaner, safer future. By accurately separating materials and removing impurities, companies can minimize wasted material, repurposing usable elements.
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Plastic waste poses serious threats to both public health and the environment. Materials that contain plastic particles take hundreds of years to break down, and during that process, they leach toxic microplastics into waterways and soil. These microplastics accumulate in the environment and our bodies. As a result, properly recycling plastic waste is imperative for protecting the environment and safeguarding communities from microplastic buildup.
"The Automatic Sorter is, among other things, our answer to the higher requirements in plastics recycling. After all, the increasing practice of chemical recycling means that there is a growing demand for precise separation of the different plastic fractions," BRT Hartner Executive Manager Andre Berlage told Plastics News.
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