By 2050, the world is expected to generate 3.4 billion tonnes of waste annually. With only around 5,500 facilities handling municipal solid waste operating worldwide, there is a critical need to build more next-generation plants and retrofit older ones with new technologies. This includes the use of AI to speed up processing times and improve recycling rates to meet the growing tsunami of waste.
Currently, only 1% of waste is monitored in facilities, and even in advanced economies, 40% of waste sorting is done by hand. AI, and the data it unlocks in real-time, will help digitise and automate systems to capture a massive amount of lost financial value. This is where London-based AI-powered waste analytics platform Greyparrot comes into the picture.
Transforms global waste management
In a recent development, Greyparrot, which raised $11 million in Series A funding in 2022, has now secured $12.8 million from Netherlands-based Bollegraaf, the world’s largest builder of recycling plants in a strategic partnership to transform global waste management. As per the agreement, Bollegraaf will transfer its AI vision business to Greyparrot.
The company intends to use the funds to foster collaboration across the waste value chain and those influencing it, uniting producers, waste managers, and regulators to recover and reuse waste materials more sustainably. Greyparrot will also open its first office in mainland Europe in the Netherlands.
Greyparrot Analyzer: How does it work?
As a part of this deal, Bollegraaf will serve as a global distributor of Greyparrot Analyzer, which currently provides 100% visibility into waste streams at recycling plants across 14 countries using AI camera systems.
Greyparrot’s retrofittable Analyzer Units sit above conveyor belts in sorting facilities, using cameras to capture real-time images of waste flows. Its AI is unique in its ability to identify characteristics like mass, brand, emissions potential, and more across over 67 categories of material at 95%+ accuracy.
Last year alone, Greyparrot’s Analyzer has helped facilities analyse over 25 billion waste objects, characterising them into over 70 categories in real-time to reveal seven layers of data, including material type, financial value, brand, and GHG emissions.
In addition to this, Greyparrot Sync integrations send real-time waste data to third-party software and hardware, regardless of brand.
Unlock the power of AI waste analytics
Greyparrot was founded by Mikela Druckman, Ambarish Mitra, and Nikola Sivacki in 2019 in London. Mikela is known as a World Economic Forum (WEF) Technology Pioneer, and was a WEF Global Future Council Member for AI and AR. Also, she was the COO at Blippar, one of the UK’s first tech unicorns. Ambarish is a serial entrepreneur and visionary tech innovator, recognised for his pioneering work in AI, computer vision, augmented reality, and climate tech. Named a World Economic Forum (WEF) Technology Pioneer in 2021, he co-founded Blippar. Nikola Sivacki is also known for his previous experience at Blippar.
Greyparrot uses AI computer vision systems deployed in sorting facilities around the world to monitor, analyse and sort large waste flows at scale. Its system provides waste analytics and data-derived insights to waste managers, producers, and regulators to increase recycling rates and introduce accountability to the waste value chain. The suppliers of recycling hardware have integrated the Greyparrot AI model into their sorting equipment and robots.
Edmund Tenfelde, CEO of Bollegraaf Recycling Solutions said, “We are thrilled to make this strategic investment and partner with Greyparrot to bring waste intelligence to both upcoming recycling infrastructure deployments and existing facilities worldwide. We believe that Bollegraaf’s comprehensive knowledge of automation of recycling MRF operations, premium equipment quality, and unique engineering expertise empowered with Greyparrot AI systems represent the one-of-a-kind synergy that is destined for success.”
“In a world drowning in waste, a large percentage of which is recoverable, the urgency for action has never been greater. It’s time for a revolutionary leap in how we value, capture, and manage our waste. We’re excited to partner with Bollegraaf, and add to our team of experts in artificial intelligence and deep learning, to address this challenge and pave the way for the waste industry’s largest rollout of AI to date,” said Mikela Druckman, CEO of Greyparrot.
