First Wind-Powered Recycling Robots online In Sweden
ZenRobotics Ltd. has delivered a ZenRobotics Recycler waste sorting system to its customer Carl F in Malmoe, Sweden. The robotic waste sorting line has been operational since February and is the first of its kind in Sweden. The investment in robotic sorting technology is expected to increase recovery to 12,000 tons annually.
Carl F, based in Malmö, is a visionary family-owned waste management company with a more than 129 year-long history. Dedicated to developing more sustainable practices, Carl F aims to minimize the footprint of its waste sorting processes. In 2013 the company mounted a wind turbine that generates power for the recycling station.
“We are constantly looking for more efficient practices and the ZenRobotics waste sorting system fits that scope perfectly. The standalone process allows us very efficient waste separation and the robots have been doing the night shift, too,” Carl Fredrik Jönsson, fourth generation in the family company, explains.
According to Carl Fredrik the development has been slow in the waste industry and many seem to be content with the status quo. The company feels that there’s way too much incineration of waste in Sweden and they want to recover more recyclables that would otherwise go to waste.
“Vi aim to recover up to 25% more of the waste that we process. That’s annually 12 000 extra tons of material that can be used for recycling”, Carl Fredrik clarifies.
Designed to operate day and night
The Malmö installation is unique as it’s powered with the company’s own wind power for reduced environmental impact. It’s a perfect example of a simple yet efficient sorting process for mixed C&D and C&I waste. The line has been running also during nights, adding more capacity to the process.
“An installation like this is a great example of how you can set up a fully automated waste sorting process for a minimum investment. You instantly get the benefits of scale with a minimal operating cost. You can even run the line with wind or solar energy”, Rainer Rehn, ZenRobotics CCO explains.
The ZenRobotics Recycler is the world’s first robotic waste sorting system. It enables flexible and automated waste sorting even for smaller scale operation. The unique system can be trained to recognize new fractions and therefore allows more optimized waste sorting as it can sort multiple fractions at the same time. This kind of flexibility has not been available in waste sorting before.
