Recycling Robotic Recruitment
Teresa Romanovsky • August 3, 2021
Soft plastics, until now, have been the bane of recycling plants. Although recycling efforts have been suitably ramped up over the past decade, soft plastics such as single-use plastic bags and clingfilm are still choking our landfill sites. Fine plastic is notoriously easy to entangle in waste-separation machinery, which often leads to mechanical failure and contamination of other recyclable materials like fabrics and paper.
Even though recycling inroads have been made over the last few years, single-use and soft plastic are still rapidly filling landfill sites. The majority of the soft plastic that is recycled is sorted by hand, but more often than not, it is ignored, and 94 per cent still ends up in landfill. Single-use soft plastic still remains a massive challenge to the circular economy, waste management and environmental sectors. There is a distinct lack of safe and suitable sorting methods.
In a move to combat soft plastics reaching landfills, engineering researchers and students at the University of Sydney have developed a smart, automated artificial intelligence robotic system to sort and separate soft plastic from general waste. Using the latest IoT (Internet of Things) technology and techniques, they have created a custom robot to resolve the problem. The university has partnered with the federal government’s Cooperative Research Centre that provides funding for short-term, industry-led research collaborations, the Centre for Internet Things and the School of Electrical and Information Engineering.
The recycling robot uses artificial intelligence and computer vision programmes. It will learn how to identify various forms of recycling waste, which, over time, will allow it to efficiently and accurately see and sort waste. Various refuse streams will help preserve the purity of the plastic so that it can be effectively recycled and not end up in the overflowing landfill.
Careers with Purpose works solely with purpose-driven employers and values-driven employees in plant-based production, sustainability, environmental protection, human rights and animal protection industries. We are excited about delivering pioneering recruitment solutions for individuals and companies concerned about climate change, pollution and consumerism.
Vast injections of investment are already being powered into creating a more sustainable Earth. This new movement of robot design is introducing an exciting category of planet-friendly technology careers. A robot engineer role embraces a myriad of experts. We’re experiencing an upsurge in innovative high tech start-up businesses seeking unique skill sets from the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) industries.
It's well known that plastic pollution is one of the most pressing environmental challenges that the world faces today. The increase in plastic production is overwhelming the world's ability to deal with its disposal. Asian and African nations have long struggled with efficient garbage collection, recycling and safe disposal of waste. Developing countries have also struggled to collect discarded soft plastics.
The recycling robots will not only lessen the waste entering landfill, but the soft plastics will be repurposed for other uses including advanced recycling into oils and other valuable chemicals using patented Catalytic Hydrothermal Reactor technology. Soft plastic can be physically recycled and turned into outdoor furniture and roads or chemically recycled and turned back into oil for plastic resin or fuel.
According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Australians use an average of 130 kg of soft plastic each year. As a result of low-recycling opportunities and efforts, a staggering 130,000 tonnes of plastic will find its way into the waterways and the ocean. Once in the ocean, the various plastics critically endanger marine wildlife. WWF commissioned the University of Newcastle to carry out a study that assessed plastic ingestion from nature to people. The report suggests that people who regularly consume seafood digest up to around 2000 tiny pieces of plastic every week.
Millions of animals, birds, fish and other marine creatures are killed by plastics every year. 700 species, including endangered animals, are known to have been affected by single-use or soft plastic. Most deaths are caused by strangulation, entanglement or starvation.
We hope that with the advent of the recycling robot and an increase in STEM careers, an effective, large-scale recycling operation will tackle and reverse the soft plastic crisis.
As of January 2025, Australia has taken a significant step towards greater corporate accountability and transparency by introducing mandatory climate-related financial disclosures. This and requirements like it are helping to push business into action with 54% of those surveyed by Future Focus feeling the pressure from regulatory requirements. This policy, designed to align with global standards, requires for now very large entities to report on their climate-related risks, opportunities, and actions. While this move is essential for a more sustainable economy, it is also poised to have a profound impact on the job market, particularly in the areas of sustainability, ESG and compliance.
As new sustainability roles emerge in the fight against climate change, Australia faces the challenge of developing and attracting the talent needed to fill them.
In recent developments within the corporate sector, a substantial shift toward differentiating pay based on employees' work location has emerged. This change has sparked considerable debate over its potential effects on workplace equity and inclusion. Detailed insights from industry surveys and research studies, such as those conducted by Herbert Smith Freehills and KPMG, illustrate a growing trend where one-third of employers express intentions to pay remote workers differently than their in-office counterparts. This approach, particularly noted in Australia, involves 38% of senior executives who believe remote working should be a privilege contingent upon trust and seniority. About 37% of these executives are considering implementing pay differentials between remote and in-office staff within the next three to five years.