Greyparrot Enters into Strategic Partnership with Dutch Recycling Company Bollegraaf to Improve Waste Analytics
Strategic partnership will see Greyparrot and Bollegraaf deliver improved recycling capabilities, harnessing the transformative potential of AI
As industries begin to realise the possible benefits of Artifical Intelligence (AI), one making strides is the recycling and waste management sector, a crucial area in the drive towards a circular economy.
In this vein, U.K. AI startup Greyparrot is partnering with Bollegraaf, the world’s largest builder of recycling plants, to accelerate deployment of data-driven waste insights technology to recycling plants globally.
This partnership will bring together key elements of each business, with Bollegraaf transferring its AI. vision business to Greyparrot and also make a cash investment, for a total value of $12.8M, for a non-controlling stake in the company. In addition to equity financing, Bollegraaf will become a distributor and strategic partner of Greyparrot’s AI technology.
The partnership between Greyparrot and Bollegraaf is a great showcase how AI can improve and further digitalize industry processes towards a more sustainable future. According to Techleap, about 650 AI startups and scale-ups are already based in the Netherlands, and Dutch government recognizes that AI can help further advance the green economy.
Greyparrot adds intelligence to Dutch recycling process
Greyparrot’s AI-enabled recycling technology uses computer vision for waste, analysing and identifying materials using cameras, computers and AI on a recycling conveyor belt. This creates ‘waste intelligence’, or data relating to binned plastics and other items, which can help digitise and automate systems to capture lost financial value, ultimately helping to reduce waste.
Greyparrot has already had an impressive track record in using AI to tackle the world’s waste problem. The company said that last year, it helped analyse more than 25 billion waste objects and identified data for customers like material type, financial value, brand and greenhouse gas emissions.
Greyparrot and Bollegraaf’s partnership comes at a critical time, given the significant need for plastic, in particular, to be processed. By using AI, Edmund Tenfelde, CEO of Bollegraaf Recycling Solutions, has said that the technology would double that rate, leading to significant efficiency gains and greater sustainability in the use of materials.
Innovative solutions for a sustainable future
By helping Greyparrot with its practical set up in the Netherlands, the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency has guided the company through the steps needed to establish its business, helping to establish its first office in mainland Europe in the Netherlands.
This partnership will see Greyparrot and Bollegraaf deliver an improved waste management sector, aligning with the Netherlands’ goals of creating a sustainable future for all, whilst adding to the Netherlands’ significant community of innovative businesses.
In developing the partnership, Greyparrot and Bollegraaf have taken a step towards a more efficient recycling system, a circular economy and an innovative future using AI.
Source: Greyparrot
26 March 2024