London Startup Uses Lasers, AI to Help Human Pickers Remove Recyclable Materials from Waste Streams

A startup in London that uses AI and laser technology to spot recyclable materials in garbage piles has secured £1.65m in funding.

Sorted, founded in 2022, uses technology from computer vision and spectroscopy, which measures electromagnetic fields, to identify recyclable items in waste streams at facilities. Lasers controlled by AI guide human pickers to remove the materials before they end up in landfills or incinerators.

“We use AI to augment and better enable human pickers, and our UK pilots show increased revenue and performance as well as reduced costs through using Sorted’s technology,” said Arthur Goujon, co-founder and CTO at Sorted.

“Under pressure to comply with upcoming regulations such as the UK Emissions Trading Scheme, our customers are actively seeking ways to reduce the amount of materials such as carbon-heavy plastic they send to incineration and avoid increased fees.”

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