Hi-tech AI-powered robots are replacing recycling centre workers in Finland
On the outskirts of Finnish capital Helsinki, new technology is making recycling easier.
A recently-opened, 35-million-euro plant, owned by Finnish firm Remeo, can process up to 120,000 tonnes of construction waste, including wood, plastics, and metals.
It is said to be the most advanced recycling plant in Europe.
According to the European Union, the average European produces about five tonnes of waste a year, but only 38 per cent of that gets recycled. Over 36 per cent of all EU waste comes from construction.
Recycling waste is complicated due to the limited information on materials' content and quality.
"Unpure" items often cannot be recycled and reused as raw materials.
Several ZenRobotics heavy picker robots are helping sort wood from plastic, and metals from stone. The 12 robotic arms help capture valuable pure materials to boost recycling rates.
"They look at each and every object that comes on the belt and then figure out whether it's wood, whether it's wood that has some nails in it, tiles or concrete, and then they put it in the correct chute for later processing."