In urban environments such as cities, one of the biggest problems is waste management. Connecting businesses and residential areas creates a large amount of waste that needs to be managed. And it’s getting worse: According to the World Bank, global waste generation is expected to increase by 70% by 2025. So how can we deal with all this garbage?
One solution is to use artificial intelligence (AI) to detect waste. AI can not only help us identify different types of waste, but also sort it for recycling or reuse. Let’s take a look at how AI is being used for smarter waste management and why it works so well.
What is AI Waste Management?
The term “AI waste management” or “AI-powered waste management” simply refers to the use of artificial intelligence in the context of waste management. We may associate AI with computer chips, luxury cars and big data, but in fact AI is already being used in a variety of ways to manage the infrastructure around us – and that includes waste management.
For example, „smart“ bins can be used to alert waste management companies when bins are full, meaning collection routes can be optimized, labor reduced and fuel saved. Alternatively, AI can be used to alert people to nearby waste services and locations to ensure more waste is sent to recycling centers instead of landfills.
While there are various ways AI can be used in waste management, it is AI-powered waste sorting that can truly revolutionize the industry and transform our environment.
What is AI garbage sorting?
When trash is thrown away, it needs to be sorted before the valuable parts can be recycled. This happens at a materials recovery facility (MRF), and the growing value of recyclable materials means that it makes economic sense to sort and recover materials that would previously have ended up in a landfill.
Before waste can be recycled, it must be sorted and processed. This means that different types of waste must be separated. Separating paper and plastics or removing hazardous waste ensures that every type of waste can be processed safely and appropriately and that the greatest possible amount of waste is recycled. Materials that are recycled are kept out of landfills, which is associated with harmful environmental impacts.
Until recently, waste sorting was done through a combination of human workers and mechanical, silent machine sorting. Now, smart trash sorting using artificial intelligence coupled with robotics can streamline the task and increase the speed and accuracy with which trash can be sorted. It can even differentiate between food-grade and non-food-grade plastics, creating new markets with higher value as purity levels increase.
Recycleye Vision offers the necessary equipment for intelligent waste sorting. Our leading AI computer vision system scans waste and identifies materials in 28 different classes. Using real-time data, operations managers can see exactly what the waste consists of and take appropriate action to ensure the efficiency of the waste sorting system. Additionally, Recycleye Robotics can be used in conjunction with Recycleye Vision to further automate the sorting process. With the help of robotic technology, 33,000 picks can be carried out in just 10 hours.
AI-driven robots are capable of working long hours at a consistent speed, allowing waste sorting to continue for extended periods of time, with AI-powered waste detection as accurate as the human eye.
For recycling plants, this means higher output, higher productivity and lower costs, as well as an increase in the number of recyclable materials sent for recycling.
How can AI help the environment?
Artificial intelligence is changing the way we live and there is no doubt that it can have a positive impact on the environment. In the waste management industry, the potential impact of AI on the environment should not be overlooked.
Currently, a significant proportion of waste is sent to landfill (around 24% in the UK in 2019), sometimes even when the person throwing the waste actually wants to recycle it. For example, if the waste is thrown into the wrong recycling bin or mixed with other waste, the additional effort required to sort and separate the waste can be perceived as excessively costly and time-consuming. In such cases, potentially recyclable material may be unnecessarily disposed of in landfills, where it generates greenhouse gases, releases toxins into the environment and disrupts natural biodiversity.
However, when artificial intelligence is used for waste separation, the material recovery plants can separate the waste with the added benefit of the AI robots being able to work consistently for longer periods of time. This, of course, increases the economic benefit for the facilities that undertake this task and in turn reduces the amount of waste that ends up in landfills.
So, in summary, installing AI waste sorting technology has a direct, positive impact on the environment as well as financial, operational and commercial benefits for waste management companies.
AI and the circular economy
A circular economy promotes economic development through the reuse, repair, recycling and refurbishment of existing materials. When all materials are reused or recycled, waste and its negative impact on the environment are eliminated.
Many people believe that transitioning to a circular economy and drastically reducing or eliminating waste is the ultimate way to protect the environment and that this can certainly have a positive impact on our natural environment. Of course, how we process waste and how much waste we recycle is an important part of the circular economy, and making sustainable waste management cost-effective through AI waste sorting brings us one step closer to this reality.
Use of advanced technology in waste management
Advanced technologies such as AI, computer vision and machine learning are already being used in our daily lives. From companies using AI to operate more sustainably to homeowners using artificial intelligence to reduce their energy consumption, there are countless ways technology can reduce our environmental impact.
However, the greatest environmental and financial savings can be achieved when we apply AI to waste management on an industrial scale, which is why AI waste sorting is such an important development. If you would like to learn more about how Recycleye Vision and Recycleye Robotics can transform your operations, simply contact us .