Each Recycleye QualiBot comprises a computer vision which scans each item on the stream using a camera and categorises it by material and object based on combinations of visual characteristics recognised by machine learning algorithms. Coordinates of each item and the detection made by the vision system are then communicated to a robotic arm, which picks the item and places it into the correct chute or bin.
The compilation of these hundreds of millions of data points, which are automatically recorded in the Recycleye Trend dashboard, sheds some light on interesting consumption and recycling habits.
Having picked 199 million items across the year, Recycleye QualiBot units sorted 49 million aluminium beverage cans, and there was one global favourite (or most recycled) brand. Coca Cola topped the list of most frequently seen brands of aluminium cans in every country in Europe where Recycleye machines are present, with an average of 38 Coca Cola cans seen per minute per line, 3x more than any other brand and making up 31% of the total aluminium stream. Within Coca Cola products, Coca Cola Zero was most frequently seen on MRF streams at 40%, with Coca Cola Original Taste following at 37% and Diet Coke bringing up the rear at 27%.
Many nations lived up to expectations with their other most recycled aluminium cans, with Irn Bru and Guinness coming in second in Edinburgh and Dublin respectively. Recycleye QualiBot systems detected and sorted 245% more Guinness cans on aluminium lines in Ireland following St Patrick’s Day in March than in May, one of many seasonal composition trends seen by MRFs every year.
Liquid cartons featured heavily in MRF conversations in 2024, particularly regarding the mandatory collection of the material across England under the upcoming Simpler Recycling policy implementation. Recycleye reports recovery of 13 million cartons in 2024 across 5 Recycleye QualiBot units dedicated to pick the composite material, some of which are those at Veolia Southwark and Panda Ireland, funded in partnership with the Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment (ACE UK and ACE Ireland).
The AI concluded that the most frequently seen cartons in MRFs in Dublin were milk products by Avonmore and Dunnes, whilst in London and Manchester, where fresh milk is almost exclusively sold in HDPE bottles, supermarket-own passata and long-life milk, and Oatly oat drink were the most frequently seen cartons in MRFs.
Along with insights about MRF materials detected and sorted, Recycleye Unwrapped also features data on the improvements in performance experienced by MRFs in their Recycleye QualiBot machines. The company reports an increase in average pick rate from 45 picks per minute to 62, with some MRFs experiencing 92 picks per minute. It also details a decreased in human intervention needed with the machines by 98%, and a new ability for the robotic pickers to operate on belts of speed 1.5m/s, whilst in January the machines were limited to belts slower than 0.8m/s. Across the year, duration of installation of the technology at MRFs halved from 3 days to 1.5 days.
Upon publication of Recycleye Unwrapped, Victor Dewulf, CEO of Recycleye, said: “The power of AI to scan materials streams 24/7 has unlimited potential for visibility in the recycling industry.
We are delighted to share these metrics in 2024 to reflect patterns seen in MRFs across the country and continent, but they really only scratch the surface of the data that can be unlocked by harnessing this technology.
From machine monitoring to composition changes, computer vision can provide omniscience to plant managers and their teams.”
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