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It has been well over a decade since supermarkets in many countries got automated bottle-return machines. With all the advances in computer vision, is there rea

It has been well over a decade since supermarkets in many countries got automated bottle-return machines. With all the advances in computer vision, is there really no way to have machines that can economically scan returned plastic for its recycling code and direct it towards the appropriate bin, so that the recycler gets a supply of correctly sorted plastic?

lbriner 8y ago
Recycling codes are not consistently applied, a bottle might have lost its label, many plastics use mixed types and lots of food and drink containers are polluted by the food and liquids so they are still dirty. You can tell people to wash things and separate them but you can't really police it and when it doesn't happen, you have to inspect everything to ensure that nothing gets through!
- viraptor 8y ago
  There's some threshold where "quick wash of everything not explicitly full of stuff" is cheaper/more economical than inspecting, so that shouldn't really prevent automation. Maybe just make it a bit harder.
michaelt 8y ago
I just finished a bottle of Coca-Cola while I was on a train. The bottle is made of polyethylene terepthalate, while the cap, ring and wrap-around label are made of polypropylene. There's a few drops of coke left in it too. Oh, and I squashed it to save space in the recycling bin. I put it in a 'mixed recycling' bin that also contained prepackaged sandwich boxes, paper towels, plastic bags, and a banana skin. I think this would be very difficult to separate automatically.
- raverbashing 8y ago
  There are machines that separate the label from the bottle This video is very informative https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAr4BZM_Tzk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAr4BZM_Tzk
- olyjohn 8y ago
  We have separated bins for recycling, compost and garbage at every single restaurant in Seattle. Nobody knows what can and should go in what bin. Nobody knows what the containers are made of when they order their food. So basically, all 3 bins end up being full of trash. I know I am not going to sit there for 10 minutes reading the sign, looking at all the pictures trying to figure out if my straw is made from plastic or corn, so it all goes in the trash. I figure I'm doing a favor by putting it in the trash instead of potentially contaminating the entire load of recyclables.

lbriner 8y ago

Recycling codes are not consistently applied, a bottle might have lost its label, many plastics use mixed types and lots of food and drink containers are polluted by the food and liquids so they are still dirty. You can tell people to wash things and separate them but you can't really police it and when it doesn't happen, you have to inspect everything to ensure that nothing gets through!

viraptor 8y ago
There's some threshold where "quick wash of everything not explicitly full of stuff" is cheaper/more economical than inspecting, so that shouldn't really prevent automation. Maybe just make it a bit harder.

michaelt 8y ago

I just finished a bottle of Coca-Cola while I was on a train. The bottle is made of polyethylene terepthalate, while the cap, ring and wrap-around label are made of polypropylene. There's a few drops of coke left in it too. Oh, and I squashed it to save space in the recycling bin. I put it in a 'mixed recycling' bin that also contained prepackaged sandwich boxes, paper towels, plastic bags, and a banana skin. I think this would be very difficult to separate automatically.

raverbashing 8y ago
There are machines that separate the label from the bottle This video is very informative https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAr4BZM_Tzk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAr4BZM_Tzk
olyjohn 8y ago
We have separated bins for recycling, compost and garbage at every single restaurant in Seattle. Nobody knows what can and should go in what bin. Nobody knows what the containers are made of when they order their food. So basically, all 3 bins end up being full of trash. I know I am not going to sit there for 10 minutes reading the sign, looking at all the pictures trying to figure out if my straw is made from plastic or corn, so it all goes in the trash. I figure I'm doing a favor by putting it in the trash instead of potentially contaminating the entire load of recyclables.