Ways to use artificial intelligence to reduce plastic waste

Using Artificial Intelligence in Plastic Waste Management to Make the Process More Accurate and Fast

Plastic waste is one of the most prevalent challenges when it comes to sustainability, which is a top concern for organizations today. In their quest to minimize and eliminate pollution, businesses and governments are turning to artificial intelligence (AI) as a helpful tool. Less than 10% of the 400 million tons of plastic waste generated worldwide each year is recycled. Although solving this problem requires significant and complex changes, using artificial intelligence can gain the required knowledge and efficiency.

Plastic supply chain optimized

Artificial intelligence can improve the efficiency of supply chain operations. Using predictive analytics, companies can gain a clearer understanding of demand changes and prevent overproduction. AI can help companies use only the necessary amount of plastic, reducing waste by adapting manufacturing to changing demand cycles.

Some companies are trying to create a closed-loop supply chain that includes recycling and returns to eliminate waste in production. Complex factors must be considered when determining how to design and implement these systems, but AI can help.

Analytical tools can identify potential reuse locations for materials or the most efficient way to handle returns. Businesses will find it easier to restructure their supply chains to reduce plastic waste.

Finding new disposal methods

Artificial intelligence can come up with creative green solutions to get rid of plastic. Recently, researchers used machine learning to develop an enzyme that can degrade PET polymer into its constituent chemicals in less than 24 hours. Companies can turn these ingredients into new materials and reduce waste.

Traditional discovery techniques are labor and resource intensive, often requiring multiple laboratory experiments. ML algorithms can speed up this process by simulating the interactions of different compounds. They can then discover promising candidates faster and more accurately than traditional research.

A similar AI-assisted study may reveal further strategies for breaking down plastic. The findings could play an important role in managing current plastic waste and avoiding future waste.

Finding ways to reduce plastic use

First, reducing the use of this material is the first way artificial intelligence may help reduce plastic waste. Some companies have begun using artificial intelligence to simulate and analyze various packaging layouts to understand how to redesign them to provide the same strength with less material. Companies that implement these measures use less plastic.

Artificial intelligence can also simulate the substitution of plastics in products and the packaging of alternative materials. Using this knowledge, companies can switch to more recyclable, environmentally friendly materials without going through a time-consuming, expensive prototyping process. Finding the best modifications manually can take months and lead to several costly mistakes, but artificial intelligence can do it quickly and efficiently.

Eliminating Wasteful Mistakes

AI can also enhance more traditional processing techniques. Recycling facilities often use manual sorting techniques to separate recyclable plastics from waste for landfill. Mistakes are inevitable because this repetitive work is often onerous or tiresome for humans, but AI can change that.

Machine vision systems can separate waste from recyclables faster and more accurately than humans. They always achieved the same speed and accuracy as those who were bored and distracted. Recycling facilities can then stop mistakes that could result in recyclable plastic being dumped in landfills.

Similarly, industrial errors can be avoided by using machine vision and other artificial intelligence solutions in production facilities. By making plastic manufacturers less prone to error, these gadgets will reduce material waste.

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