Case Study: Cireco Scotland boosts PET and aluminium recovery with Recycleye robots

Cireco Scotland was looking to automate recovery of rolling PET and aluminium cans at Dunfermline MRF

Cireco Scotland, a leading resource management organization, was facing a challenge in its materials recovery facility (MRF). Despite using existing sorting technology, a significant number of valuable recyclables like PET bottles and aluminium cans were still ending up on the residue belt to be sent to landfill. Their goal was to automate recovery of these materials to increase sorting consistency, lower operational costs, and divert more waste from energy recovery.

Recycleye implemented a solution using three AI-powered robotics units on the residue line. These Recycleye robots automated the quality control process, scanning 100% of the material and picking missed targets at a rate of 120 picks per minute. The system replaced three manual picking positions per shift, allowing six full-time employees to be relocated. This lowered sorting costs and resulted in a significant reduction of target materials lost to residue while increasing the quality of the captured recyclables.

Cireco Scotland

David Goodenough

Service Manager (Corporate Operations and Projects)