21st July 2025, London – Recycleye, the British developer of AI-powered sorting technology, has successfully commissioned its Recycleye QuantiSort® unit at HEYDT’s construction and demolition (C&D) waste facility in Aulendorf, Germany.
Delivered in partnership with global plant builder specialist STADLER, the project marks a European first: the use of AI-only optical sorting to separate mineral fractions — including brick from concrete.
In June, Recycleye and STADLER completed the installation of a new sorting stage at HEYDT’s plant with the QuantiSort® system, enabling the facility to accurately identify and extract complex materials such as brick, concrete, gypsum, breezeblock, metals, wood, plastic, tile and glass.
For HEYDT, a innovator in C&D waste recycling in Baden-Württemberg, the project enables brick extraction and upcycling for the first time — a breakthrough in inert material recovery. Historically, NIR optical sorters have failed to perform this sort due to their sensitivity to dust, impurities and surface defilements, and are often not economically viable options. While VIS (RGB) sorters can detect colour, they are limited to surface features and do not offer the depth or adaptability needed for complex, dirt-covered or irregular materials.
Recycleye QuantiSort® overcomes these limitations using Recycleye CogniScan®, a proprietary AI vision system trained on over 1 billion waste images. With machine learning models making 28.6 billion decisions per second, the system replicates human visual recognition — factoring in colour, texture, shape and contextual cues — and accurately classifies each item. Combined with the SuperEject® pneumatic system, the sorter reliably separates large brick fragments from mixed aggregates and fines, even when materials are dusty or soiled.
“This is a step change for C&D waste recovery,” said Victor Dewulf, CEO of Recycleye. “By unlocking the ability to sort challenging mineral fractions, we’re supporting recyclers like HEYDT to go further in circularity. This project is a proud first — our first in Germany, and the first use of QuantiSort® in the C&D waste sector.”
STADLER provided engineering leadership and expertise regarding the mechanical sorting unit as a whole, as well as on system and site integration, ensuring seamless deployment within HEYDT’s established operation. The project signals the beginning of further joint C&D waste recovery initiatives across Europe.
Juan Carlos Hernández Parrodi, Sales DACH at STADLER, commented: “This installation showcases the great potential of combining STADLER’s mechanical sorting equipment and plant design with AI-powered vision sorting. It opens up new opportunities to recover high-value fractions from C&D waste that were previously downcycled or even disposed of in a landfill.”
Michael Heydt, Managing Director of HEYDT, added: “This partnership demonstrates how AI can deliver practical, profitable solutions. We’re now recovering a valuable new fraction — brick — and improving purity in other material streams.”
