Recycling is the key to cutting down waste and protecting the environment, but that doesn’t mean it can’t get a facelift every now and then. Recycling is a proven solution to combating climate change and helping people cut down on the waste they produce, however it’s not a 100% guarantee that everything made with recyclable materials will actually be recycled.
The reason for this is because most recycling processes are not as efficient as possible. It takes a long time for items on the conveyor belt to get accurately sorted and sent off to recycling manufacturers. Oftentimes materials get missed and sent out to waste away in the landfills instead. That’s why Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the ultimate solution to streamlining the recycling process. It’s providing a software update and ensuring that no recyclable material gets left behind.
Recycling and AI seems like an unlikely partnership, but combining them is helping prove that recycling truly works. EverestLabs conducted a survey across the United States to better understand consumers’ recycling habits. Out of 1,000 respondents, 85.9% really believe that recycling helps protect the environment. This is important to note because it shows that investing in AI is not a lost cause, but will actually help further sustainability initiatives.
“Recycling has a huge impact on our environment so it’s important to make sure that everything that can be recycled is not going to waste, literally. Our goal is to strengthen the circular economy for packaging by leaving no recyclable left behind,” says JD Ambati, Founder & CEO of EverestLabs.
However, it’s important to invest in the recycling process as a means to make it more efficient. With recent technological advancements, AI and robots are mixing together to ensure that each and every recyclable material is getting properly sorted. This technology works faster than ever, and can even identify and sort new materials that come across the conveyor belt. This is essential to the process because this means it can pull out contaminated materials so more items qualify for recycling.
Not only does it sort materials with more accuracy, but this type of technology is able to adapt to changes and is easily accessible for Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) companies. The more CPG companies who invest in the technology, the more things are actually being recycled.
“Robots and recycling may seem unlikely companions, but robots are improving the recycling process for the better. Our AI technology identifies the materials sent to recycling facilities and determines which pieces of packaging or contamination the robot will pick and which to leave on the line. Robotics sorting is super helpful because it is more accurate and efficient than traditional hand sorting in quality control and net new recovery roles, where overworked employees are repetitively sorting materials for 8 hours a day and can barely sort 10 – 15 objects per minute,” Ambati says.
Investing in recycling technology might seem like an expense outside of the budget, but it’s actually more cost effective than you might realize. Did you know that manufacturing companies have to pay money to put trash in the landfills? Studies show that the average tipping fee is a little more than $60 per ton. The more companies allocate resources to recycling, the less they will have to pay in tipping costs. There is a huge return on investment for CPG companies when they invest in recycling AI technology.
You have probably heard of recycling since you were little, even learning about it in school. As technology advances, this means big industries are getting a facelift, and it’s for the greater good. Recycling works, and AI robotic technology is only making it more efficient and accurate, which ultimately protects the environment. Perhaps in 2025, it’s time to realign budgets to account for this sort of technology. Not only will your company’s bank account thank you, but also the planet.
