SmartBin.Tech

UTS Global Big Data Technologies Centre, in partnership with CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, is developing AI powered Smart Bin Technologies to automatically classify and sort recycled bottles. This will help to produce high-quality recycled material and build Australia’s circular economy.

NSW generates 800,000 tonnes of plastics every year, with only 10% recycled due to poorly sorted and difficult materials. The wide range of plastic waste materials, such as polymers, pose unique challenges for the recycling process. The contamination of one type of plastic by another can also cause serious processing problems.

Smart Bin Tech has developed innovative technologies, including IoT, sensing and robotics, to detect, classify, and sort recyclables into plastic, metal, and glass recycle bins. Moreover, plastic bottles are classified using AI and Infrared spectroscopy technologies, and sorted into various types of plastics. A data system will enable users to record and visualise their recycling activities, and manage the smart bins in real time.

The separation and sorting of plastic waste serve as major steps in plastic recycling. Smart Bin Tech aims to change the ways that recycled materials are collected and processed to improve recycling rates and to reduce landfill. This research is part of CSIRO’s Ending Plastic Waste Mission, which has a goal of an 80 per cent reduction of plastic waste entering the Australian environment by 2030.