GreenWaste Recovery AI Recycling Editorial Prepared By: Sharon L. Hadden NINICO Communications
AI Powered Recycling Works to End Plastic Pollution The future of recycling is artificial. Artificial intelligence, that is. In the recycling industry, there’s a constant need for innovation. Our planet is crying out for it. As the consumption habits of the world change, we need to change as well, and there are a few key ways AI powered recycling can work to end plastic pollution. Daily life is run from a “make-use-dispose” mindset. While many understand this model isn’t sustainable, circular thinking, as the recycling industry calls it, has a slow adoption rate. Over the years, incredible progress has been made to create bio-derived and synthesized plastics, that are less harsh on the environment. However, it seems the current economy just isn’t built to handle one harmonious, never-ending flow of recycling and reuse. Particularly when it comes to plastics. As they’re tossed into the recycling bin, consumers see plastics as all the same. When they arrive at a material recovery facility (MRF), sorting plastics becomes a complex issue. Artificial intelligence has the ability to change that. Artificial intelligence can aid in sorting plastics more quickly. It can assist in processing plastics more efficiently. Automating the sorting process with intelligent algorithms will put the world one step closer to ending plastic pollution. And why stop there? With a more efficient way to sort and process plastics, additional exploration can be done around converting plastic materials into energy. This could further reduce world-wide pollution, resulting in an even greater benefit to the environment. The world has always had a love / hate relationship with plastics. Their durability make them incredibly useful, but their disposal pose very real threats to our landscape and seascape once discarded. New technology applications, including artificial intelligence, could transform plastics into something advantageous to sustainability, rather than compromising. Each year, GreenWaste Recovery averts x tons of waste from landfills. By May, GreenWaste will be able to increase processing capacity by x amount, with the introduction of robotics machinery in their MRF. It’s clear that innovation is key—in the way we recycle, in the ways we reuse. Artificial intelligence is a step toward tackling plastic pollution from both ends of the spectrum.