If a consumer thinks recycling is some sophisticated magic, they're likely to use the plastic bag they think is recyclable to encapsulate a load of mixed recycling while it accumulates indoors. Assume this bag now contains a combination of paper, plastic, and cans.
Or if they have a plastic container full of fresh fruit with a tuna can from lunch, they might put the empty metal can within the now empty plastic container, closing the container to limit the odor. Eventually this winds up in the recycling bin as metal nested within plastic.
Automatically identifying and separating these instances intact, I imagine, is non-trivial.
What I don't understand is why we need to separate everything intact and can't just shred it all to a uniform size then automate sorting and washing that product.
If a consumer thinks recycling is some sophisticated magic, they're likely to use the plastic bag they think is recyclable to encapsulate a load of mixed recycling while it accumulates indoors. Assume this bag now contains a combination of paper, plastic, and cans.
Or if they have a plastic container full of fresh fruit with a tuna can from lunch, they might put the empty metal can within the now empty plastic container, closing the container to limit the odor. Eventually this winds up in the recycling bin as metal nested within plastic.
Automatically identifying and separating these instances intact, I imagine, is non-trivial.
What I don't understand is why we need to separate everything intact and can't just shred it all to a uniform size then automate sorting and washing that product.