Digitalization

Since April 2024, Cirrec, part of the Faerch Group, has been operating a recycling plant in the Netherlands that processes post-consumer PET trays from household collection systems into food-grade recycled material.

Fujitsu has commenced a demonstration experiment examining the value flow of green steel within the steel industry, starting in December 2025. The project was selected by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry as part of its fiscal year 2025 Industrial Research Project.

Speira has introduced speira.ID, a digital product passport designed to provide structured and verifiable information on aluminium products. The system consolidates essential data for each individual coil in a single digital record, including carbon footprint, recycled content, chemical composition and input material mix.

Austria’s deposit return scheme (DRS) is approaching the end of its first year with stable operational performance and high return volumes. By the end of November 2025, more than 1.2 billion PET bottles and aluminium cans had been collected.

ZAV Recycling AG, a Swiss waste recycling company, has installed a ZenRobotics Heavy Picker at its Hinwil facility in Zurich. The advanced robotics solution, supplied through Swiss distributor AA Protun AG for dry bottom ash treatment, is delivering strong results, processing non-ferrous metals from bottom ash with improved recovery rates and increased processing capacity.

Northern Ireland based Plaswire has announced an initiative that uses blockchain, IoT and AI technology to revolutionise the recycling of wind turbine blades, unlocking a seismic opportunity for other sectors, including aerospace.

ValcopIA is the latest French MRF opened last July and sets the standards for sorting centres in France. ValcopIA is a project led by Decoset, a joint association in Haute-Garonne, and entrusted to the Paprec – GCC Occitanie – SWA – Aktid consortium as part of a comprehensive performance contract.

IMRO Maschinenbau is set to open a facility capable of processing complex waste streams such as incinerator bottom ash (IBA), in collaboration with ZenRobotics.

Pellenc is launching AISEE, an AI-based quality control analyser designed to support operators in achieving high efficiency and top-quality outputs. AISEE focuses on monitoring, analysing, and improving the quality of recyclable fractions, while reducing material losses.

The demanding requirements for quality and quantity in waste stream separation call for new solutions to meet these challenges. One promising approach lies in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and computer vision, combined with existing technologies such as near-infrared (NIR) cameras. This article aims to introduce these technologies, explain their exponential growth, explore current applications in waste sorting, and highlight their potential for the future.

Tomra Recycling has released a new eBook examining the role of artificial intelligence in recycling. The publication explains deep learning and its applications in sorting processes, highlighting opportunities for material recovery and plant optimization.