Recycling is an essential part of the three waste-reduction strategies of reducing, reuse, and recycle. Recycling is converting waste into usable material. It repurposes items that we described as trash and transformed them into something valuable and new. Recycling is an alternative to traditional trash disposal that can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, plastics, metals, cardboard, tires, batteries, old electronics, and even textiles are good examples of recyclable materials.
Composting biodegradable items like food or garden waste is also another way to recycle. If you can no longer reclaim the trash you have, you should dispose of it properly. A good alternative will be to get garbage dumpster rentals for your community and store the segregated trash there before recycling. This way, the trash is stored in a sealed container while waiting to be processed: reused, upcycled, or composted.
Recycling benefits both the environment and people in various ways, so here are some innovative technologies that might assist in the increase of recycling.
Quick learner
Meet Clarke, artificial intelligence that can sort and recognize items. Clarke is designed to recognize logos and pictures on the packaging. He’s also capable of doing so with superhuman speed. Clarke can detect and sort rubbish faster than any human. Clarke is a cutting-edge technology that may benefit humanity in various ways if made widely available.
People will have an easier time separating their trash and recycling items that they previously couldn’t. If Clarke were to be placed in a landfill, he would sort and locate recyclable materials, causing us to preserve as many recyclable materials as possible, significantly reducing waste in a specific area. It would also benefit the entire environment because the amount of pollution that travels worldwide will most certainly decrease significantly.
The dynamic duo
Two-thirds of the plastics we consume are polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), and recyclers usually separate them for recycling. PE and PP are frequently separated by researchers so that they can be reused and recycled. After a detailed review, researchers discovered that adding a specific polymer to previously used PE and PP may create a new plastic that is hard and easy to reuse and recycle.
This plastic is also believed to be strong enough to be utilized as packaging and uses fewer resources than today’s plastic. It would be fantastic news for the environment, as PE and PP account for about two-thirds of all plastics we consume. However, because they can now be utilized together as a single substance rather than as individual materials, this new technology will help conserve time and increase efficiency.
Roll up your sleeves
Roll up your sleeves is an innovative technology that allows us to remove labels from plastic bottles. These wrap-around sleeves on our drink bottles prove to be very helpful when we’re browsing for information about what’s inside the bottle. However, they obstruct the recycling process in a variety of ways. They combine with the plastic, clog the process, and potentially degrade the recycled item’s quality.
As a result, roll up your sleeve is an innovative technology that removes labels while also improving the quality of the new material. This technique can do so without causing damage to the material (bottle). With that being the case, more plastic bottles get recycled with good quality and reduce waste in our environment.
Clean and clear
Clean clear is a new technology that purifies post-use polypropylene from odor, color, and other impurities. Polypropylene is a kind of plastic often seen on yogurt containers and bottle caps. According to the researchers’ findings, the result is a resin that is as good as new. Resin is a solid or highly viscous material converted into polymers and comes from plants or manufactured sources.
Resin is a substance that may be used in a variety of ways. Castings, arts and crafts, floors, countertops, and other applications are all one of the possibilities. It can also be utilized to produce plastic and works well as an adhesive. Clean and clear is a technology that repurposes old polypropylene into something new, reducing the amount of trash produced by people.
These are some of the innovative technologies developed to aid with recycling, but we humans must also play a role. It is our responsibility to recycle our trash. These technologies may help in more effective recycling, but they are not responsible for increased recycling. Remember, these machines are there to assist with recycling, and it is up to people to ensure that those items are delivered to their proper locations.
Communities should properly dispose of our trash and do it regularly. Despite new technologies, individuals should contribute more and learn to take care of the environment through their own initiatives.
