11 Jan 2022 --- Researchers at Aarhus University, Denmark, are developing a camera machine capable of distinguishing between 12 different types of plastic, making it possible to sort and recycle materials according to their chemical components. The plastic waste solution is part of the RePlast project, which aims to create technology that can support the identification and proper recycling of industrial components.Although the technology will primarily be used for purifying household collected plastics and fishing nets, the researchers believe the machine’s applicability can be extended further.Mogens Hinge, associate professor at Aarhus University and head of the plastic and polymer engineering group, tells PackagingInsights: “This is groundbreaking [technology] and it will increase the rate of recycling of plastics immensely.”In partnership with Vestforbrænding, Dansk Affaldsminimering Aps, and Plastix, the researchers have developed the camera technology to identify the difference between 12 different types of plastics: polyethylene, polypropylene, PET, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene fluoride, polyoxymethylene, polyether ether ketone, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, poly(methyl methacrylate), polycarbonate, and PA12/Nylon12).“Together, these constitute the vast majority of household plastic types,” says Hinge.
