Greyparrot - reinventing the management of waste

by Startacus Admin

Greyparrot! The startup that's using AI to create an innovative waste management solution

We have written many times previously about the problems around waste management and how hugely damaging our current methods of landfills and ocean dumping are to us all. We have looked at several startups shaking up recycling by turning non-recyclable plastics into usable chemicals or into building aggregate; however, the truth is that if nothing is done about the state of basic recycling, things are only going to get worse.

During the current pandemic, we have already seen a significant decline in recycling. Global recycling rates are at a terrible 14%, but the good news is that this is in large part due to heavy involvement of human workers, and if sci-fi has taught us anything, it’s that humans are replaceable. We may have taken the wrong lesson from sci-fi…

London-based startup Greyparrot has developed an end-to-end solution to change that 14% through automation.

This can be deployed in sorting and recovery facilities and provides analytics to waste managers, producers and regulators. At its most basic level - and the one of most obvious value to outside eyes - it automatically identifies the waste that passes its sensors on the conveyor belt to ensure that waste that is not recyclable doesn’t make it through, and to spot hazardous materials and contaminants.

Those analytics also allow for real-time insights for the user to keep on top of things, ensure that purity levels are being maintained, audit, optimise their processes, and so on. Greyparrot’s scalable solution can also be integrated in anything from smart bins, to the trucks that transport the waste, to the facilities and robots that sort it.

In June, the winners of The Europas Awards 2020 were announced (via Zoom); Greyparrot was named the winner of the category ‘Hottest Climate/GreenTech Startup’. The startup has already gained a foothold in the UK, Italy, and South Korea, and this award came soon after they announced that they had raised £1.8 million in a seed funding round.

In today’s environment (pun intended), a solution like this is a much-needed step towards not destroying the planet, and it will help not only waste management facilities but also individual businesses looking to reduce their carbon footprint.

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• #
• #ai
• #waste management
• #automation
• #sustainability
• #environment
• #circular economy

Published on: 14th July 2020