Across the world recycling rates are improving, but still only 9% of plastic waste is recycled each year. One of the biggest barriers recycling plants face is separating the huge variety of materials which end up in our trash. Recycleye’s AI-powered trash-sorting robots have Recycleye Vision, which is the London start-up’s flagship technology and functions exactly like a human eye to tell different products apart. In fact, the robots are more consistently accurate than humans, because they’re more reliable, more cost-effective, and can work 24/7. If human-like robot vision sounds like a very futuristic invention, then the future is now. With 21 robots already installed in sites across Europe, Recycleye is successfully reducing waste in the present. Earlier this year they were named as one of the “100 ways to fix the future” on Norrsken’s Impact 100. And let’s not forget that at the end of 2022, the start-up was recognized at the UK’s National Recycling Awards for Robotic Equipment Innovation. Quite an impressive resume! The ability to cheaply and easily sort waste using robots is transforming the recycling landscape, allowing materials that were previously thought unrecyclable to become part of the
circular economy. With Recycleye’s innovation that lacklustre 9% of plastic waste recycled per year is sure to increase.

What They Say: “Recycling starts with the sorting of materials. But if the cost of sorting those materials is higher than the value of the materials themselves, the economics don’t stack up. We believe that waste doesn’t exist, just materials in the wrong place, so by creating innovative sorting technology that lowers the costs of sorting waste, we’re making materials recovery more economic and a better deal for waste management companies and the planet.”

Founder/s: Victor Dewulf & Peter Hedley
Based In: London, United Kingdom
Website: www.recycleye.com