World’s first AI-powered plastic sorting for food-grade PP mechanical recycling

Recycleye, Valorplast and TotalEnergies work on a collaborative research project OMNI to enhance the circularity of polypropylene (PP) food packaging by technology with Artificial Intelligence (AI), computer vision, as well as efficient decontamination process.

The project leverages AI and Machine Learning for the identification and separation of food-grade PP from household post-consumer wastes, to introduce high-performing solution to the market in order to tackle the challenge of mechanically recycling PP for food-contact applications.

In a demonstration unit, Recycleye built and trained an AI model based on waste collected from five locations across France, supplied and characterized by Valorplast. The AI and robotic sorting achieved a successful pick rate of 50% of the food-grade material, with more than 95% purity.

AI-powered plastic sorting project delivers world’s first food-grade PP mechanical recycling.

The material is further processed in decontamination on a semi-industrial pilot based on off-the-shelf mechanical recycling technologies. TotalEnergies then leveraged its polymer expertise to produce odorless, clean rPP for high-end packaging applications.

Nathalie Brunelle, Senior Vice President, Polymers at TotalEnergies, explained that the project not only demonstrated how cutting-edge technology can improve material circularity, but also paved the way for a wider range of accessible applications for recycled polymers.

“This application opens the possibility of creating new markets for recycled plastics materials; ultimately changing the economics of recycling,” added Victor Dewulf, CEO of Recycleye.

“Being able to recycle food-grade PP is a key factor in the establishment of a circular economy for PP packaging. AI is a promising route for achieving this objective,” concluded Alban Cotard, Sales Quality and Development Manager at Valorplast.