The construction of the pilot plant for cybersorting of plastic waste, developed within the PLASTICE project, is now in its final stage! The advanced sorting system has been designed by the I-SENSE Group of ICCS in Athens and aims to improve the recovery and circularity of plastic materials through innovative digitalisation technologies.
The cybersorting pilot plant combines advanced sensor technologies, artificial intelligence, and automated material handling to identify, classify, and separate complex plastic waste streams with high precision. By using multiple sensing modalities and AI-driven analysis, the system is capable of detecting different polymer types, colours, contaminants, and material compositions in real time, enabling more accurate sorting of plastics that are traditionally difficult to recycle. This significantly improves the quality of recovered materials, increases recycling efficiency, and supports the production of higher-value secondary raw materials for circular manufacturing processes.
Once completed, the sorter will be installed at the COGERSA’s Open Lab in Asturias, Spain — more than 2,500 km away from its development site — marking an important milestone for this ambitious European collaboration!
The cybersorting pilot plant is part of PLASTICE’s broader mission to address one of the key challenges in plastic recycling: the difficulty of sorting complex and contaminated plastic waste streams. Today, only around 20% of plastic production is recycled, while the rest is often landfilled or incinerated due to technical and economic barriers in current recycling systems.
To tackle this issue, PLASTICE is developing innovative technologies that go beyond conventional mechanical recycling. Alongside advanced sorting solutions, the project is demonstrating new valorization processes such as microwave-assisted pyrolysis, hydrothermal liquefaction, gasification with chemical post-treatment, and cascade enzymatic hydrolysis. By integrating digital tools, eco-design principles, and circular business models, PLASTICE aims to significantly reduce plastic waste and greenhouse gas emissions while supporting the twin transition towards a more digital and circular plastics economy.
Learn more about PLASTICE project at https://plastice.eu/
