Müller Recycling uses artificial intelligence to sort PET bottles

Müller Recycling AG is replacing two sorting systems at its site in Frauenfeld in the canton of Thrugau with a development from Borema Umwelttechnik AG in Schwarzenbach in the canton of St.Gallen. The investment is intended to improve the recycling of PET drinks bottles, explains a statement.

The systems developed by Borema Umwelttechnik use laser and near-infrared sensors as well as artificial intelligence to sort the collected material. This helps to separate drinks bottles from foreign matter more accurately, as well as to sort them by color. According to the statement, a Borema Umwelttechnik system can sort up to 49 bottles per second with an accuracy of 99.96 per cent.

The more accurately the PET drinks bottles are sorted, the higher the quality of the recycled PET (R-PET) that can be produced from the collected material. This is important, because R-PET can only be used to produce drinks bottles if it meets the necessary quality and food safety requirements. The investment secures the closed PET recycling loop in the long term, according to Müller Recycling.

Müller Recycling opened Switzerland's first PET sorting plant in 1992. Since then, the sorting modules have been continuously modernized and expanded. This year, the company fitted its sorting hall and all other halls with photovoltaic modules to make PET recycling even more environmentally friendly. ce/ssp