Recycling 4.0 is particularly at home in the areas of Industry and Factory 4.0, Sustainability and Environment 4.0 as well as automation. The term describes a new level of recycling in which digital technologies make the reutilisation of materials much more efficient.
At the heart of Recycling 4.0 is the use of networked machines, sensors and artificial intelligence. Thanks to this technology, recyclable materials can be recognised much more accurately, sorted and fed into the appropriate recycling process. This conserves resources and has less impact on the environment.
An illustrative example: In a modern recycling plant, smart sensors scan the waste and recognise which material the different parts are made of. Robots then sort plastic, glass and metal separately at lightning speed. The data from this process is collected and analysed in order to control the processes even better - this saves energy and costs.
To summarise: Recycling 4.0 means that recycling is becoming smarter, faster and more environmentally friendly - thanks to modern technologies that network and control everything.
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