How AI and robotics can solve shredder challenges

AI-powered systems have the potential to positively impact the inbound and outbound materials of secondary metals processors, delegates heard at the BIR Shredder Committee meeting at the World Recycling Convention and Exhibition held in Gothenburg on June 1, 2026. The use of AI and robotics is focused on improving day-to-day operations, along with the critical need for facilities to be prepared for the inevitability of fires.

How AI systems are changing the face of metal recycling and shredding operations 

Raghav Mecheri, CEO of Visia AI, U.S., explained how AI systems can — and already are — improving metal recycling and shredder operations, as well as helping address the feedstock and safety challenges faced by the industry. "It is my humble opinion that low-error, AI-powered ‘material controls' — or low-error AI-powered ‘find-bad-stuff' technology, as I like to call it — will have immense impact both on the inbound and the outbound [material flows] of secondary metals processors," he told delegates.

Visia AI builds custom AI systems that work with different types of detection technology, such as cameras, X-rays, and scanners, that allow facilities to improve their specific operations. These systems can address various ‘feedstock non-conformance' issues faced by metal recyclers, including detecting unwanted lithium-ion batteries — the main cause of fires. Such systems also help operators understand the composition of incoming loads and prove the composition of outgoing loads.

Real-life applications of its systems include: detection of non-metallics and dirt; identification of unwanted oxygen and propane tanks; and checking the composition of ferrous or non-ferrous metal in automotive shredder residue. Some recyclers use cameras on conveyor belts with laser pointers that track materials on the belt. This method is used to train quality control staff to pick off the materials identified, reducing training time.

While facilities must budget for the time and materials needed to test their systems, Mecheri added that "zero-shot machine learning" is coming, meaning data from specific sites is no longer needed to train a model to work. "The model itself understands your material stream," he said. Instead, data such as grading guides and weight estimates are fed into the system to make the technology more useful.

Recyclers can accelerate their business by adopting new technologies 

Operators were encouraged to consider the changes they wanted to see and the operational processes they wanted to improve so solutions could be developed that would work best in their operational environment.

Michael McMenamin, U.K.-based regional sales manager for Terex brand ZenRobotics, discussed how robotics and technology can address challenges such as labour shortages and purity requirements. "I'm hearing crazy numbers in terms of the cost now for pickers in Europe," he said. "It's quite common to hear anything from Euro 35,000 to Euro 45,000 a year for a picker. In Australia, I got figures at AU$ 100,000, which is around £50,000. So, the costs are ever increasing, but the other part of the problem is actually [hiring] labourers, training them, and keeping them."

ZenRobotics has been integrating AI with robotics since the early 2010s onwards and has over 100 robots working on a range of applications to date. Typical applications include cleaning ferrous lines where robot arms pick off unwanted material such as copper, trash, and wire, making the decisions autonomously. This tool works by the scanner sending information to the software, which tells the robotic arm what to pick. 

With robotics, material needs to be presented in a single layer, achieved by feeding material on a vibrating pan feeder, and then onto a 1.8-metre-wide belt. Each ZenRobotics heavy picker arm makes around 2300 picks per hour. The robots are pre-programmed to pick over 250 items, but can also be trained and updated to pick new items and materials. A more recent development is for each robot arm to have its own sensor so that it takes a fresh look at the belt each time.

McMenamin asserted that its robots are easy to maintain, use off-the-shelf parts, and are designed to work in difficult environments. As well as being able to replace tough and undesirable manual picking jobs, the robots gather data useful for reporting or proof of recycling.

AI and robotics present a solution to common safety concerns 

George Adams, CEO of SA Recycling, U.S., used the Shredder Committee platform to urge yards to prepare for the inevitability of fires resulting from the prevalence of lithium batteries in materials streams. "It's not a case of if you're going to have a fire — you are going to have a fire," he said.

The reason for repeatedly raising the subject, he told delegates, is that it affects everyone in the industry. "When one of us has a fire, it gives a bad name for all of us, especially today, with media and with YouTube videos and with social media," he pointed out. One yard's bad practices can lead to a fire that tars the entire industry and even leads to changes in the law and the imposition of new regulations, he explained. "In California, where I have three car shredders, they're trying to change the law right now to make our businesses [classed as] hazardous waste because of fires, and to be regulated, because of fires," he noted.

Sites need to work with suppliers to prevent undesirable materials from coming in, inspect their loads on the ground, segregate loads, and shred to the ground. Fire breaks should be used if there is a lot of material, drills should be conducted once a month, and businesses should train with both the weekday and weekend crews of the local fire department in order to be fully prepared.

Checking water pressure and having water readily available for deployment are also necessary. Water can be stored in containers that cranes can grab and release onto fires quickly, while water trucks should be full and ready. Water hoses located on towers enable fires to be put out from above.

Shredder installations increase across the globe 

Also at the meeting, Shredder Committee Chairman Alton Scott Newell III of Newell Recycling Equipment, U.S., revealed BIR's latest World Shredder List — a country-by-country breakdown of shredders of 1000 HP or above. This shows 326 installations in North America, 267 in the EU and EFTA, and 646 in the rest of the world, increasing the global total to 1239 from last year's 1229.