Do you know that each American produces nearly 4.51 pounds of trash daily and spends thousands of dollars every year just to pick up that trash? Alongside issues like a rapidly growing population and overconsumption, we also have to deal with overproduction instead of quality goods. This results in more waste, which is making our ecosystem more and more vulnerable to environmental threats.
The EPA estimates that nearly 70 percent of all waste is recyclable, while only 32.1 percent of the waste is actually recycled or composted. The United States has a $6.6 billion recycling industry, and a majority of people understand the importance of recycling in their everyday life. Still, the industry continues to decline due to the high costs associated with recycling. For this reason, it’s cheaper for companies to use “virgin” raw materials instead of recycled ones. However, there are still ways that companies can increase their ROI and make profits by starting recycling programs and managing them efficiently.
Recycling may not sound like the most dangerous industry in the world. However, you may be surprised that according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, it has the sixth-highest fatality rate among all U.S. civilian jobs in 2019. Considering factors like workplace safety, lack of career trajectory, low wages, and monotony of working tasks, the recycling industry is also among the most challenging hiring markets.
Alongside hiring challenges, accuracy and productivity issues are attributed to the human workforce. As the day progresses, and naturally, workers get tired, their sorting accuracy will likely decline and lead to contamination. On top of that, human workers can work only so many hours, and if an MRF wants to operate round the clock, they will have to work in shifts, inevitably leading to some downtime.
How is technology helping the recycling industry?
Tech is making our world a better place by making life easier and helping us manage our lives more efficiently. Innovations in the waste management and recycling industry can take over manual tasks like sorting waste, increasing work efficiency, and reducing the time it takes humans to get the job done. Introducing recycling innovations such as on-site sorting robots can make the recycling industry not only more efficient but also safer for workers.
While the exact workings may differ, most recycling innovations use a combination of robotics, AI/computer vision, and machine learning. Computer vision software is used to identify various materials, which are then sorted by using robots, and the data is monitored and stored for later. Most recycling utilizes a simple three-step process.
Identify
Nearly all recycling tech solutions utilize a combination of computer vision and machine learning or AI to detect, classify, and track recyclables within the waste stream. Some of these systems even have up to 95% accuracy rates.
Sort
After identifying various objects within the waste stream, the next step is picking up recyclables and sorting them into various categories.
Monitor
Since computer vision is used to identify various objects within the waste stream, it generates a considerable amount of data. This data can be stored ad used to make informed decisions and run quality waste audits.
How Recycling Tech Can Improve Your Company’s ROI
For decades, the linear take-make-use-dispose model has been the standard approach toward production and consumption. However, the biggest issue with the linear model is that most materials get contaminated before they can be sorted and recycled or reused. Recent trends point towards a circular economy where waste management technology will be geared towards extracting raw materials from the current waste stream.
Recycling tech can improve your company’s ROI in the following ways:
Help companies stay on top of local recycling rules and avoid the general public’s errors.
Speeds up the waste management process by sorting more efficiently.
Sorting your waste stream at the time and point of disposal.
Analyzing the waste stream and finding opportunities to save money and resources.
Generate waste audits to make informed decisions.
Recycling Tech That Can Help Increase Your Recycling ROI
Waste Level Sensors
With the growing population, people are producing more and more waste every day. On the other hand, we cannot know when the trash bin will be full. Without adequate information about the trash bin’s fullness, it’s challenging to change the trash bags in time and maintain clean facilities. Waste-level sensors solve this issue by informing the users which trash bins are full and at which location. In high-traffic areas, this can give collectors a considerable advantage concerning the timing and bin fullness.
AI Recycling Robots
Let’s face it, humans are prone to making mistakes. In recycling, one of the most significant issues is that people don’t know what to recycle and end up wishcycling. When recyclables are not handled properly or mixed with other materials, they get contaminated. Many recycling facilities and smart recycling solutions use AI recycling robots that identify and separate recyclables from non-recyclables with more accuracy and at a faster pace.
E-Waste Kiosks
When it comes to e-waste recycling, the biggest questions are when, how, and where. Disposing of electronics can be tricky as many gadgets are made up of hazardous materials. E-waste kiosks address this issue by accepting electronic waste and reimbursing the users for their old devices. It uses smart technology to identify the value of the gadgets and pay the user accordingly.
Waste Management Software and Dashboard
Alongside hybrid waste management solutions, there are also waste management software and dashboards that utilize analytics and reporting to help companies reduce waste and improve their recycling ROI. Based on its type, the waste management software market can be divided into waste tracking software, waste hauling software, route management software, recycling software, maintenance software, and more. These software and dashboards are used primarily to schedule waste storage, disposal, and transportation alongside implementing strategies to recycle or reuse materials.
Smart Waste Bins
The best way to deal with recycling issues and avoid contamination is by sorting waste at the time of disposal. Smart waste bins utilize computer vision, AI, and machine learning to automatically sort waste into the right bin as soon as someone throws something into the trash bin. Smart waste bins like TrashBot also have built-in screens and a content management system that can help educate users about recycling. Companies can also run automated waste audits and get the report within a few minutes.
Plain and simple, humans are one of the greatest barriers to recycling, and it can be blamed on the gap in education. According to the EPA, US recycling rates have been in decline, from 34.7% in 2015, which dropped in 2018 to 32.1%. The rapid drop shows the limited awareness and knowledge of recycling among the population. Our limited recycling education blurs the decision-making process in separating recyclables from organics and landfills at the time of disposal.
According to the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), 66% of Americans would not bother to recycle a waste item if it isn’t easy to do so. Thanks to recent implementations of technology, smart recycling can be an effective solution to limited recycling education and the “going-the-extra-mile” issues of the general public. We must continue to spread awareness on recycling education while leveraging smart technology such as Artificial Intelligence (AI).
AI is the future of recycling as it provides efficient solutions to our many recycling problems, including waste diversion, recycling education, and following recycling rules while disposing of waste. In this article, you will be able to find two core parts; first how humans are the biggest barrier to recycling, and secondly the solution to the problem: How AI can effectively help humans in recycling.
Why are humans the biggest barriers to recycling?
The general public is no expert when it comes to recycling, and we can’t assume that the average person has enough recycling education for decision-making. We have enlisted the top mistakes humans make, which make them the biggest barriers to recycling.
Separating recyclables from non-recyclables
Let’s assume that the average person wants to take part in recycling, and they want to separate recyclables from non-recyclables, usually, they won’t have enough knowledge about the items that are non-recyclable. They typically think that every common trash can be recycled, so they often put non-recyclables with recyclables. In this way, they do more harm than good as non-recyclables will contaminate recyclables when disposed of all together.
According to New York Times, humans consider plastic bags, dirty diapers, oily takeout containers, greasy pizza boxes, yogurt cups, and disposable cups as recyclables, and they put these items along with recyclables, leading to recycling problems. The list of non-recyclables goes on and can include solid plastic bottles, bubble wraps, potato chips bags, and so on.
Lack of non-recyclable item awareness
Aside from the non-recyclables mentioned above, humans take other types of non-recyclables as recyclables because of the lack of recycling education. In this way, recycling plants face the severe issue of the presence of a massive amount of non-recyclables. Recycling activities are disturbed due to the lack of recycling knowledge among humans. A good example of non-recyclable is traditional coffee cups which are coated in plastic.
Conventional coffee cups cannot be recycled as they often are plastic-coated; nevertheless, some elements (such as cardboard sleeves, bio paper, sugarcane bagasse, bioplastic, etc) can be recycled.
Recycling contamination
Recycling contamination is one of the most common issues faced by the recycling industry. It means contaminating recyclables by throwing non-recyclables in the recyclables bin or placing recyclables in the non-recyclables bin. In either of the cases, the ultimate problem is caused for recyclables by humans. Recycling contamination also occurs when food residues remain on recyclable products. Humans often make these kinds of mistakes at the time of disposal.
Aspirational recycling
Humans have behavioral issues when it comes to recycling. They often are not 100% sure about whether a certain product is to be placed in either a recycling bin or not. The uncertainty sometimes causes recycling contamination, and it feeds the phenomenon known as “aspirational recycling.” Aspirational recycling means that a human feels that a certain product should be recycled, and they throw it in the recycling bin, thinking that if that product is non-recyclable, it will find its way out of the recycling plant.
Artificial Intelligence is making recycling easy
The statistics related to waste are alarming for humankind. It’s time to utilize advanced resources and technology to not only recycle the recyclables but also save them from being contaminated due to the presence of non-recyclables.
According to National Geographic, every year 91% of plastic does not get recycled. While considering this grave problem, anyone can assess that this percentage is high due to the lack of recycling education among humans and limited use of smart recycling. Recycling education can also be spread with AI apps such as Consciously Aware, and smart bins such as TrashBot. You can read more about recycling and its related hot topics here.
Furthermore, the use of AI makes the lives of humans easy because they do not have to go out of their homes to gain recycling education. Also, they do not have to memorize the recyclable and non-recyclable materials. Smart recycling in the form of TrashBot has done all of the heavy-lift for the humans at bigger places such as airports, stadiums, and hospitals. These places produce a massive amount of garbage every day, and TrashBot makes the recycling process easier as it is 3 times more accurate than humans at the time of disposing of the trash.
Did you know that in the U.S. it is estimated that up to 25% of submitted items are unrecyclable? The inefficient recycling solutions to handle the world’s waste have led to air, water, and soil pollution, affecting our world’s sustainable growth. In addition, recent studies show that only 9% of plastic in the world actually gets recycled, these and more challenges make it harder for companies trying to shift towards a Zero Waste vision.
Only until smart tools such as smart recycling bins become an easy-access solution we will be able to replace the traditional ways of treating old and new waste problems, achieving truly sustainable and smart waste management.
Challenges with Traditional Recycling Bins
The vague information about recycling bins’ fullness indicates unproductive use of human resources, immoderate fuel consumption, time-wasting, and excessive use of resources, such as trash bags and cleaning chemicals. In addition, the absence of sensors made it challenging to identify any unusual incident (like fire or displacement). Consequently, few companies have started to test AI robotics to detect recyclable items.
Some of the most popular challenges faced with traditional trash bins are the following:
Need for route optimization
Detection of bin saturation
Controlling the bin overflows
Information about any unusual incident
Recyclables contamination
User diversion accuracy
Convention centers, buildings, stadiums, and transportation facilities are deploying new innovative solutions, such as CleanRobotics TrashBot™, a smart bin that captures high-quality waste data and informs staff when it gets full. TrashBot features an AI system that is three times more accurate at the point of disposal than human beings and conventional methods whose accuracy stands at 30%.
The global challenge to increase recycling rates is still hard to tackle with users’ uncertainty when deciding which items can be recycled and which cannot. Without proper user education, we can’t grow recycling rates and understand which type of recycling system is needed for a sustainable future. AI technology has been a breakthrough implementation in the recycling process, diverting recyclable items (aluminum, plastic, paper, glass, and more) from landfills.
What is a Smart Recycling Bin?
Smart waste management is the process of measuring, reducing, collecting, separating, and recycling trash using sensors and resilient devices to achieve efficiency, transparency, and sustainability.
A smart bin can leverage the use of technologies such as Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT), computer vision, robotics, RFID tags, Near Field Communications, sensors, Wireless Sensor Networks, compactors, actuators, Intelligent Monitoring Systems, and dashboards. The smart bin’s system works with artificial intelligence to divert trash with efficiency, cost-effectiveness, minimum labor-power, and least traffic congestion.
Smart bin TrashBot™ is integrated with a real-time monitoring dashboard that enables enterprises to gain insights into the overall recycling materials. The monitoring indicators allow the custodians to optimize their workflows and spend limited time while checking bins. Units can also perform waste audits, determine diversion rates, calculate potential cost savings through a smart bin analytics platform. Hence, users can maximize the recycling potential of materials through smart bins.
A smart bin is an amalgam of sensors, processors, and communication modules. The machine learning ability of smart trash bins works with real-time data collection, which is then transferred to the cloud platform through WiFi. The software on the cloud then processes the data and transmits it to the user interface for final reaction. It works as an IoT device to pick out and compress recyclable items spontaneously.
Smart bins make the complete waste management process convenient and efficient by combining the power of AI systems, robotics, and data processing. With AI and ML technology, smart bins can detect separate recyclables from landfills with 90% accuracy. It is also a more cost-effective (and smart) waste management approach than using expensive sensor instruments and human resources.
How do Smart Bins Work?
The sensor inside of the smart bin immediately recognizes when an item has been deposited. Through AI and Machine Learning, the recycling robot or smart bin will divert the items into their corresponding bin inside, assigning any contaminated items into the landfill bin.
The smart bin will also monitor the internal capacity and send a notification (such as SMS or email) for the custodial team’s action. Smart bin connectivity is possible thanks to a system of integrated devices, software, and a user interface, from collection to disposal of waste material.
Smart Recycling Bin Features
AI-Powered Sorting: Consists of a sensor for object detection, a camera sensor for image recognition, and robotic technology for segregating recyclables from landfills. When an object enters a smart bin, the camera captures the object image for identification. The image is then identified and sorted against the entries in the database, whether it’s can, plastic, glass, or paper, and delivered in the respective section of the bin through robot automation.
Built-in Display: The integrated screen enables users to add personalized content intermittently with educational content. Some facilities can also leverage the built-in display fot advertising material.
Analytics Dashboard: An intuitive and user-friendly dashboard where users can monitor the bin’s capacity, track diversion rates, notice trends and make strategic decisions.
Mobility: It is embedded with swivel lock wheels, helping users move on any hard surface, including a firm carpet.
Sleek Design: Advanced recycling companies like CleanRobotics are deploying modern yet elegant design that not only provides high durability but comprises heavy-gauge stainless steel to prevent rust and corrosion, making them suitable for all environments.
TrashBot : A Complete Recycling Solution
With an uncontrollable amount of waste generated regularly, the job of separating the recyclable items from landfills is no more in the hands of human labor. An automated recycling solution, TrashBot, which replicates human actions, is needed.
TrashBot provides a complete solution enclosing all the mandatory features of a smart recycling bin. TrashBot is one of the top smart robot bins that generates waste diversion data of recyclable items from landfills. The critical system is constructed on a solid foundation of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, computer vision, and robotics.
The sorting immediately begins as the item is discarded into the smart bin. Trashbot’s system leverages the use of robotics, computer vision, and AI to detect and separate recyclables from landfill items. Waste diversion is 3x more accurate than human beings, generating high-quality data and notifying the staff when it’s getting full. Cloud connectivity allows individual units to learn from the global TrashBot fleet, becoming more intelligent over time. It also has a large display for user education, corporate communications, and advertising.
TrashBot Adds Value Through AI and Reporting
Large Capacity: The spacious design can accommodate enough garbage from crowded places like malls, transportation facilities and stadiums.
Swift Working: TrashBot ensures the bright future of recycling, processing and diverting trash in seconds. Thus, TrashBot makes sorting for recycling much faster and more efficient than the manual work done by humans.
Connectivity: The tasks done after the element sorting are also accomplished effectively with the help of sensors, and wireless connection to the Cloud platform. The notification that the bin is ready to be emptied can be updated on the Cloud and send a notification to the right person or team.
Proper recycling can only be accomplished with the appropriate discard of the trash. As humans fail in executing this duty, smart, automated bins like TrashBot can take over this job with 90% accuracy, efficiency, and acceleration.
