TECHNOLOGY | SORTING


beyond [using] AI as a sorting tool to [using] AI as a central intelligence for the recycling plant. By combining our advanced sorting systems and digital solutions with PolyPerception’s AI platform we are creating an end-to-end solution that doesn’t just optimise machines but fundamentally rede- fines how plants operate.” To complement this progress, Tomra is also


introducing a new deep learning application to its Gain Next ecosystem, which targets long-standing industry bottlenecks where the company says traditional sensor-based sorting has reached its limits. The first application addresses the rising demand for food-grade PET trays as a critical feedstock. By training Gain Next on thousands of images, the system can now distinguish between takeaway or supermarket trays and consumer or medical packaging to purity levels of over 95%.


New facilities China-based DataBeyond recently revealed that its flagship project in Taichung, Taiwan, has entered a phase of routine, high-efficiency operation. As the region’s first project to achieve unmanned digital and intelligent sorting of mixed plastics, the development marks a major leap in waste resource processing, according to the company. By deploy- ing a fully-automated AI Factory Management System, the Taichung facility’s throughput has risen from 2 to 10 tonnes/hr without needing workers. “The Taichung project proves that AI can liberate humans from dangerous work, allowing labour to become more dignified while giving waste a second life,” said Mo Zhuoya, CEO of DataBeyond. The centre’s core competitiveness lies in DataBe-


yond’s proprietary AI + Multi-Sensor Fusion technol- ogy, which utilises 256-band hyperspectral imaging and deep learning to identify various materials and


Right: Tomra’s PolyPerception platform interprets data and transforms it into relevant insights in seconds


colours, including PET, PP, PE and ABS. There are hundreds of millions of tonnes of light


materials in construction and demolition waste, with PP and PE film accounting for approximately 50%. DataBeyond says the key to unlocking these resources lies in efficient sorting technology. Leveraging its AI database, DataBeyond’s Fastsort- Film system sorts PP/PE film from complex light materials with over 95% accuracy, while efficiently removing PVC, PET, and other impurities, thus ensuring feedstock purity for subsequent pyrolysis- based recycling. A major North American plant opened this


summer, when WM completed its $73m Denver East Recycling Facility in Aurora, US. “The new facility is equipped with the cutting-edge technol- ogy needed to process more material more efficiently and to produce a high-quality product that can be used to create new products,” said Da- vid Brannon, Area Vice President, WM Four Corners. The operation is expected to process more than 175,000 tonnes/yr, and uses almost two miles of conveyors to carry materials through more than 30 automated stations featuring optical sorting and AI technology. It forms part of WM’s enterprise-wide plan to invest more than $1.4bn in 39 new and upgraded recycling plants across North America by 2027. Many of its facilities feature onsite Recycling Education Centres which host group tours of the plant to help foster a better understanding of how recycling works.


Sorting innovations Swiss plant equipment manufacturer Bühler has expanded its portfolio with the Sortex J SpectraVi- sion. Designed for HDPE and other polyolefin applications, the system supports advanced colour sorting and colour grouping, enabling recyclers to produce more consistent recyclates and meet increasingly demanding end-market specifications with high levels of purity, throughput, and yield. For more challenging applications such as PVC and technical plastics, the Sortex H SpectraVision combines colour cameras with advanced short- wave infrared (InGaAs) sensing technology and shape recognition capabilities. This enables the detection and removal of contaminants that can be difficult to identify using conventional colour-based inspection alone. The company has also introduced the Spark Pro, an entry-level optical colour sorter designed to offer user-friendly operation and multi-commodity flexibility. The platform incorporates newly devel- oped high definition infrared camera technology and simplified machine setup, helping operators


24 PLASTICS RECYCLING WORLD | September 2026 www.plasticsrecyclingworld.com


IMAGE: TOMRA


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