DataBeyond Technology recently opened what it says is the world's first fully automated recycling facility in northern China.
The Tianjin Baoyuan Materials Recovery Facility boasts the ability to sort specific brand bottles, high-quality clear bottles, blue and clear bottles, green bottles, meal trays, metals, glass, and miscellaneous plastics using a range of cameras and sensors. Its daily processing capacity is 50 tons.
The facility is rather data-intensive. It uses software to identify the origin of each batch of incoming materials and generate real-time analytics about the contents, which can help partners improve their recycling operations. DataBeyond claims to power over 85% of front-end waste recycling in China. It has provided turnkey solutions for over 30 projects and has been involved in over 3,000 projects worldwide.
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Do you think America has a plastic waste problem? Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. |
Definitely 👍 Plastic recycling is notoriously inefficient, but that provides lots of room for improvement. One reason plastic recycling is so challenging is the variety of plastics in our packaging and waste. Maintaining a high level of purity and consistency in the type of plastic being processed makes it more likely to see future use.
DataBeyond's new facility shows how automated sorting can help us get closer to reusing plastics that would otherwise be destined for landfills, incinerators, or oceans. We'll need many more solutions like this to reduce the amount of plastic pollution finding its way into our food chains and bodies.
Even with more efficient sorting, plastics become weaker when recycled. Some operations get around this by compressing plastics as they are into usable materials rather than melting plastics down, making pellets, and using the pellets to make new products. The plastic waste challenge is also growing increasingly urgent as Southeast Asia becomes less accessible as a dumping area for North America.
If you're interested in generating less plastic waste, our guide has tips for plastic alternatives. You can also help recycling facilities by properly sorting your waste before putting it on the curb.
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