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Recycling Revolutionized: The Cutting-Edge Advancements Tackling Plastic Head-on
Find out how we use AI to improve our recycling accuracy and efficiency and how we’ve innovated through our Polymer Centers to advance plastics circularity.Byline: BTB Editor
February 17, 2025 / Time to read: 2-3 minutesOver the last 20 years, production of plastic has
On the bright side, there’s a big appetite for recycled plastic in sustainable packaging. And to meet the growing demand, companies — including Republic Services — are turning to new ideas and technologies.
Keep reading to learn about some of our latest recycling innovations.
Leveraging AI for Enhanced Sorting and Collection
By tapping into AI, we’ve enhanced our recycling processes, making them more accurate and efficient. Take, for instance, our AI-powered sorting and collection technology. With AI, we can scan dumpsters for items that can’t be recycled. That same technology helps educate customers if they’ve made a misstep, helping them be better recyclers.
Our use of AI doesn’t stop there. At our state-of-the-art recycling facilities, we use AI-powered optical sorters to identify and separate materials in just milliseconds. AI system data also enables facility operators to maximize the volume of materials recycled by making real-time adjustments.
Extending the Lifecycle of Plastic Bottles at Our Polymer Centers
With our growing
Traditionally, recycled plastics have been downcycled into other items, like carpet or clothing. But the recycled plastics produced by our Polymer Centers can significantly extend the lifecycle of plastic packaging. By transforming plastic bottles, jugs and containers into hot-washed recycled PET (rPET) flake or color-sorted HDPE and polypropylene, recycled plastic can be turned into new bottles or jugs six to seven times
Meeting the Demand for Recycled Plastics
Though rPET supply has grown at only about 1% per year, demand is expected to rise by
Challenging Every Truckload We Collect
At Republic Services, we’re focused on
