Using Technology to Overcome the U.S. Recycling System Challenges

Each year, the globe generates trillions of pounds of solid waste, and landfills are not a viable solution since they emit greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change.

FREMONT, CA: Since the global outbreak, people worldwide have been more conscious of the need for access to safe drinking water and sanitary facilities for their health and well-being. Unfortunately, the United States falls behind other civilized nations in one particular area: the absence of a comprehensive recycling system and a transparent reporting system based on useful key performance indicators. Problems must be overcome to have a good shot at establishing the greatest potential recycling and reporting system conceivable. Per year, the United States generates over 292 million metric tons of waste, equating to nearly 4.9 pounds of garbage per person every day.

Supply chain difficulties: When it comes to manufacturing and delivering products, manufacturers are experiencing difficulty obtaining the appropriate type of plastic that is easily recyclable. Any delays result in tons of non-recyclable plastics ending up in landfills for years. Improved clean plastics recovery from recycling plants is required to enable and power the closed-loop system.

There is no actionable data: The primary issue confronting the recycling business today is a lack of meaningful, robust data to support informed decision-making. Currently, the sector is governed by requirements rather than evidence demonstrating what works and what does not.

Metrics for measurement have been updated: At the moment, recycling results are provided in terms of tonnage rather than object count. Packaging technology has improved over time and is now often lighter, not represented in a tonnage reporting method. Beverage manufacturers can considerably improve their recycling efforts if the number of bottles recycled is measured and reported. Beverage manufacturers can considerably improve their recycling efforts if the number of bottles recycled is measured and reported. According to the American Chemistry Council, the weight of a 2-liter plastic soft drink bottle has dropped from 68 grams to just 47 grams in the last 45 years, a reduction of 31 percent per bottle. This resulted in a packaging savings of more than 180 million pounds in 2006 for just 2-liter soft drink bottles, while the 1-gallon plastic milk jug has seen a comparable reduction in weight, now weighing 30 percent less than it did 20 years ago.

The waste management industry faces a looming workforce deficit: No industry is immune to the human labor shortage, and many businesses are turning to less traditional hiring pools. Additionally, the sheer volume of recyclable materials in this country renders recycling operations incapable of meeting demand without the assistance of automation. Automation is critical for the recycling industry to satisfy its criteria and targets for recycling recovery.

Check Out This : Semiconductor Review

Automation is critical: Startups tackling garbage management and recycling earned the equivalent of 0.125 percent of the $80 billion invested on self-driving car funding. Currently, the recycling industry's technology is out of date, as is the machinery, and as a result, recovery frequently fails. Automation equipment needs to react in near real-time to changing packaging materials, and only AI can accomplish this. Automation will ensure that capital projects invest for the long term in terms of facility infrastructure.

Check Out This : Featured Vendors

It's encouraging to see that the world's largest businesses are adopting a cradle to grave approach to packaging and production to find a long-term, sustainable solution to the lack of effective recycling wreaking havoc on landfills. Technology and innovation are now actively advancing this business; numerous national and international brands are conducting trials to develop more recyclable packaging for their products. The time has come to leverage data to determine what works and what does not, to develop automated products to manage the growing volume of objects in our recycling system, and, most importantly, to develop a truly connected system that enables waste companies, recycling companies, and manufacturers to assess, react, and respond more effectively to escalating issues.

Check Out This : Optoelectronics Companies