In September 2021, FCC Environment and re3 installed a Recycleye AI-powered robotic waste picking system at its Material Recovery Facility (MRF) in Reading.
Case study: Automated waste picking system optimises HDPE recycling
Members of re3’s Joint Waste Disposal Board with the Recycleye Vision System and picking robot.
re3 is a waste management partnership between FCC Environment, Bracknell Forest, and Reading and Wokingham Borough Councils. When it was learned that a solution was required to separate and remove contaminated plastics from a split-stream plastics line, the consortium turned to London-based automation engineering business Recycleye, which joined in partnership on a robotic sorting test project with the aim of improving material purity and support sustainable growth.
The Recycleye Vision and Robotics solutions were developed in partnership with FANUC and retrofitted over an existing with the AI computer vison programmed to identify and select various products according to priority.
The Recycleye KPI dashboard and metrics identify the exact amount and type of material picked in a set period, which generates data on the amount and value of materials on the belt. The increased clarity and user-friendly dashboard helped operaters deliver accurate and close to real-time information on the MRF’s quality output, whilst the robot itself has learned to become more accurate, thereby increasing the purity and volume of the target material – in this case HDPE.
The AI-computer delivered up to 55 successful target picks per minute, with 99 per cent purity rates, yielding a 12 per cent increase in volume in the recovery of HDPE from this line.
Rory Brien, FCC Environment's General Manager at re3, said: "We are thrilled to have installed the first AI-powered waste robot in England on behalf of re3. In our commitment to continual improvement and innovation at FCC Environment, we believe that it is important to be forward-thinking and adapt to new technologies, especially when it will help to improve the efficiency of the recycling progress.”
Recycleye CEO Victor Dewulf added: “The installation of Recycleye Robotics at re3’s Reading facility showcases how such technology can deliver genuine benefits to local authorities and waste management companies across the UK.”
