AIMPLAS, the Plastics Technology Institute, played a key role in the development of the plant, ensuring its operation, selecting the best technological components, and leading the monitoring of key performance indicators (KPIs).
Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing various industrial sectors, and recycling is no exception. The RECLAIM project officially concluded with the implementation of the world’s first AI-powered portable material recovery facility (pMRF).
The pMRF operates from the Greek island of Kefalonia and has been designed to fit seamlessly into a standard shipping container. Thanks to its AI-powered technology, it can sort waste on-site directly in isolated communities, such as those stranded on remote islands, rural areas, or regions with limited infrastructure.
AI-Powered Waste Sorting in Remote Areas
As with many other island destinations, Kefalonia sees a waste volume increase of more than 60% during the peak summer tourist season. Due to this enormous volume, traditional material recovery facilities struggle to operate viably at this scale.
Because of this, collected recyclables must be transported to distant continental facilities for processing. This requires further compaction of waste to reduce collection frequency, but seriously hampers effective material recovery. Additionally, residual waste is landfilled or incinerated, with significant environmental costs.
How does the portable material recovery facility work?
The pMRF bridges this gap, providing a local and scalable solution that sorts plastics, metals, and cardboard packaging at source. This smart facility:
- Detects and separates plastics, metals, and cardboard using hyperspectral imaging (HSI)
- Incorporates cost-effective recycling robotics (RoReWos) trained on real-world data
- Processes more than 6,500 items per hour, even under challenging conditions
- Reduces up to 1.6 tons of CO₂ per day by eliminating unnecessary transportation
- Consumes 36% less fuel than centralized processing methods
“After successfully validating the pMRF for continuous waste treatment in real-world situations, we are now expanding our approach to new frontiers, such as transportation hubs, mountainous regions, and suburban areas,” said Michalis Maniadakis, RECLAIM project coordinator at FORTH-ICS. “We are seeking visionary partners and investors to expand the facility and drive a smarter, more sustainable future of resource recovery.”
AIMPLAS, the Technological Institute of Plastics, played a key role in the development of the plant, ensuring its operational capacity, selecting the best technological components, and leading the monitoring of key performance indicators (KPIs).
Following the completion of the RECLAIM project, the consortium is turning its attention to commercialization and broader deployment. Plans are underway to refine the system based on the Kefalonia pilot project and explore applications in mountainous municipalities in Italy, the new Heraklion Airport in Crete, as well as large-scale events and transportation hubs.