Bollegraaf, Greyparrot form AI partnership

Netherlands-based recycling systems developer Bollegraaf Recycling Solutions has entered into what it calls a strategic partnership with Greyparrot, an artificial intelligence (AI) recycling facility analytics software developer based in the United Kingdom, in a move the companies say will “transform global waste management.”

As part of the agreement, Bollegraaf will transfer its AI vision business to Greyparrot and make a cash investment, for a total value of $12.8 million, in Greyparrot, thus obtaining a noncontrolling stake in the company. Bollegraaf also will serve as a worldwide distributor of and partner for Greyparrot’s Analyzer software, which the company says currently provides 100 percent visibility into material streams at recycling plants in 14 countries using AI camera systems.

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Greyparrot says the deal includes it acquiring Bollegraaf’s vision-based computing intellectual property and AI development team. Greyparrot adds it also will open its first office in mainland Europe in the Netherlands.

Through their partnership, the companies say they aim to retrofit thousands of existing material recovery facilities (MRFs) and plastics recovery facilities (PRFs) with AI capabilities designed to boost recycling rates and quantify material emissions.

In a news release, Greyparrot says, “The collaboration will bring forth revolutionary smart recycling plants that are fully automated and agile, unlocking new value in waste streams while diverting millions of tons of waste away from landfills, oceans and incinerators. In a development set to transform waste management, this marks a momentous acceleration in the global shift from a linear to a circular economy. Together, Greyparrot and Bollegraaf commit to developing further products that combine the strengths of both companies to make the vision of fully automated and intelligent sorting facilities a reality.”

Describing Bollegraaf as having a more than 50 percent share in the global recycling plant market and as a provider of turnkey recycling solutions, Greyparrot says the Dutch company is well positioned to provide the physical infrastructure, while Greyparrot’s ability to embed AI analytics into software and hardware systems adds an “essential digital layer.”

In 2023 alone, Greyparrot says its Analyzer helped facilities analyze more than 25 billion discarded objects, characterizing them into 70-plus categories in real time to reveal seven layers of data, including material type, financial value, brand and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

According to Greyparrot, the world is expected to generate 3.4 billion tons of discarded materials annually by 2050. With roughly 5,000 facilities globally currently handling municipal solid waste and residential recyclables, the company says there is a critical need to build more next-generation plants and retrofit older ones with new technologies like AI to speed up processing times and improve recycling rates to meet the growing material stream.

“It’s time for a revolutionary leap in how we value, capture and manage our waste,” says Greyparrot CEO Mikela Druckman says. “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 [recycling] industry’s largest rollout of AI to date.

“Getting AI waste analytics in the hands of more plant managers, more quickly, will provide the industry the data-driven insights needed to build and operate smart MRFs that unlock new value from recovered materials and decrease the environmental impact of waste,” continues Druckman. “Collaboration with plant builders and other key players is critical to making this happen, and it’s a major reason why Greyparrot is hardware agnostic, making it possible to integrate our platform with all types of systems. Progress in addressing the waste crisis can only happen if we work together and commit to systemic change driven by waste intelligence.”

Greyparrot claims that only 1 percent of material is monitored in facilities today, and even in advanced economies 40 percent of recyclables sorting is done by hand. The company adds that AI and the data it unlocks in real time will help digitize and automate systems to capture a massive amount of lost financial value. For plastic recycling in the United States alone, Greyparrot estimates a lack of visibility and automation contributes between $80 billion and $120 billion lost per year to landfills and incineration, and says its Analyzer gives 100 percent visibility into materials stream composition.

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With increased data transparency, Greyparrot says recycling program managers can confidently demonstrate regulatory and contractual compliance.

“With 63 years of industry experience, Bollegraaf continues to be a global leader in fully automated innovative turnkey recycling systems,” Bollegraaf Recycling Solutions CEO Edmund Tenfelde says. “The future is clear: to further increase recycling rates, we need more insight and collaboration across the value chain. We have been looking to implement AI that can power fact-based and automated decision making to provide our clients with a much more accurate overview of their waste composition and, ultimately, maximize their ROI.

“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.”