Imagine a smart, giant recycling bin that can tell the difference between a piece of plastic and a vegetable scrap using AI and robotics. Instead of trucking heavy, wet waste across the country, this system sits right where the waste is made and cleans it up on the spot. It then transforms that trash into useful things like proteins, sugars, and fibers that companies can actually sell.
Agri-food waste is often too contaminated with plastics and metals to be recycled and too heavy/watery to transport cheaply. This leads to 75% of bio-waste being burned or buried, wasting valuable chemical compounds.
A modular, containerised separation system using AI and robotics to extract six high-value ingredients from mixed waste on-site.
If you are a waste contractor dealing with the 85 M/y of bio-waste that usually ends up in landfills — this project developed a containerised separation system that removes impurities like plastics and metals. This allows you to divert waste from incineration and create a new revenue stream from recycled components.
If you are a producer dealing with high raw material costs — this project developed a modular system that extracts six high value-added outputs, including recombinant proteins and bioactive compounds. You can source these ingredients directly from agri-food waste streams.
If you are a greenhouse operator dealing with seasonal, dispersed organic waste — this project developed a mobile, automated separation unit. This eliminates the cost of transporting water-heavy waste and allows for on-site valorisation into green fibres and sugar concentrates.
The system is designed to operate at an industrial scale with a target of separating 6,240 t/y.
The system is containerised and operates at the waste generation sites, which avoids the inefficient transportation of water and prevents stream spoilage.
Based on available project data, specific IP or licensing terms are not mentioned, though the project integrates an advanced Airject system and AI.
The project uses a Digital Product Passport to ensure transparency and traceability of the outputs.
The system will be demonstrated over a period of 15 months at three different waste generation sites.
The consortium is heavily weighted toward commercial application, with 18 partners including 10 SMEs and 6 industrial companies (33% industry ratio). This strong SME presence, combined with 5 research centers and 2 universities across 8 countries, suggests a focus on rapid technology transfer and market scalability rather than pure academic research.
Contact AINIA in Spain for technical specifications on the modular separation units.
Contact us to connect with the MixMatters consortium for pilot site opportunities.
