Bower, Varta join forces on AI-powered scanning for consumer batteries

Swedish company Bower, the artificial intelligence- (AI-) driven recyclables sorting app, and Varta, a leading battery manufacturer based in Germany, have introduced an AI-powered scanning feature that recognizes consumer batteries and sorts them for recycling, no barcode needed. This feature allows Bower’s 700,000-plus users globally to be rewarded for sorting their Varta batteries.

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This innovation follows Bower’s six-month Google.org Fellowship, whereby the company received a 1.75 million euros ($1.9 million) grant and the support of a team of Google engineers to develop barcodeless sorting technology, which has an 85 percent to 90 percent accuracy rate, according to Bower. Since working together, 104,000 Varta items have been sorted correctly using the Bower app. 

Bower was co-founded in 2015 by brother and sister team CEO Suwar Mert and Chief Product Officer Berfin Roza Mert. It is an AI-driven app that helps users identify and correctly recycle, rewarding them with money, coupons and charitable donations for their efforts. Bower says its 700,000 users have sorted more than 122 million packages to date, and the platform has enabled 10 million tons of CO2 savings. The company has partnered with the likes of Nespresso, Gillette and Nestlé, helping them achieve their sustainability goals.

Bower’s AI technology removes the need for barcodes when users sort their batteries for recycling, seamlessly scanning and recognizing any quantity of them in one go. This not only simplifies the process but also makes recycling accessible for trickier items like batteries, which often lack clear labeling or sorting instructions. By providing real-time information on proper disposal methods and offering rewards, Bower says it is transforming a traditionally difficult recycling task into an easy and incentivized experience.

Bower and Varta, which manufactures 1.5 billion batteries annually across five production and manufacturing facilities in Europe and Asia, also have teamed up with Scouts, the global youth social movement, to help encourage the next generation of recyclers. For every four batteries sorted through Bower, Varta UK donates 1 pound sterling to Scouts. Through this initiative, the companies say they aim to change generational habits so more consumers are knowledgeable about recycling and its effects. This new technology also will help countries reach the ambitious EU Batteries Regulation targets, effective in 2023, which aim for a 63 percent battery collection rate by 2027, increasing to 73 percent by 2030. 

The average person in the U.K. uses 21 batteries per year, however estimates suggest that just 48 percent of consumer batteries are recycled, despite almost all of them being recyclable. This is because consumers often lack understanding of how or where to recycle their batteries; they view them as “disposable” and “single-use” and often lack awareness of the harmful effects of incorrect disposal.

The consequences of improper battery sorting and recycling can be dangerous; batteries put into incorrect bins are fire hazards, causing more than 1,200 fires at waste sites across the U.K. in 2023 alone. Battery recycling also is essential for facilitating a circular economy, where scarce heavy metal resources, such as lithium and nickel, can be kept in the production loop and reused.

Mark Munz, general manager, International Sales & Marketing, at Varta Consumer Batteries, says, “We have been a supporter of Bower’s in the Nordics since the very beginning and are now a proud international partner for the Bower AI sorting app across key European markets. As a leading European manufacturer of household batteries, it’s our obligation to contribute to a more sustainable future and raise awareness of the topic of battery recycling. Working with innovative technologies like Bower helps us honor this obligation.”

“For far too long, inadequate battery disposal has resulted in chemical leaks, contaminated soil and water and health problems for both humans and wildlife,” Mert says. “This has to stop, and it all starts with sorting. Thanks to our work with global battery pioneers Varta, we’re making it easier than ever for consumers to know how to responsibly dispose of their batteries. We’re proud to be changing the way people sort and recycle, one battery at a time.”