Bryson Recycling invests in 4 more AI-powered Recycleye robots in first robot re-purchase

Bryson Recycling, the UK’s largest social enterprise, today announced a further investment in Recycleye Robotics, buying 4 new robots in addition to the one installed at its Mallusk operation in 2021. This four-fold investment increase marks the first announced robot re-purchase in the UK and Ireland.

Bryson, an innovator in Recycling for over 30 years, decided to purchase additional robots to build on the successful operation of an existing AI-powered Recycleye Robotics solution on its fibre line. The decision is expected to deliver to improve material quality, maximise recycling, reduce residual waste and reduce costs.

The 4 new robots will be retrofitted in the main sorting cabin at the company’s MRF on the outskirts of Belfast, which employs over 100 people.  2 of the 4 robots will be installed over a fibre line with the objective of picking non-paper items such as plastics, cans and cardboard to reduce contamination. The remaining 2 robots will operate on a residual line, where they will target the removal of recyclable materials, diverting higher volumes into recycling, rather than to EfW.

The waste-picking robots, known as Recycleye Robotics, perform the physical tasks of identifying, picking and placing materials at a consistently more accurate rate than human operatives. The robots operate alongside, but separate, to human operatives, who continue to work in the company’s facilities. 

The intelligent picking system is powered by AI computer vision system, which detects all individual items on waste streams by material and object. The AI system sits on top of the facility’s existing waste stream conveyor belts, providing the Engineering Manager with total visibility of the waste stream and helping to improve the efficiency and operations of the plant’s sorting processes. 

Bryson Recycling collects and processes materials from over 50% of homes in Northern Ireland and employs over 350 people across 12 sites in Northern Ireland, Donegal and Wales.  This supports work for local people and the continued development of the UK’s circular economy as the vast majority of their recyclates stay in the UK. This investment is another example of Bryson Recycling delivering on its mission to maintain the best recycling quality standards and to work with local recycling companies. 

Speaking about the investment, Jaroslaw Stanislawek, Engineering Manager, said “We have decided to purchase 4 further robots from Recycleye, following the great results from the first one – almost 8,500 run hours, with around 5,000 Kg of materials picked per week, and with an availability greater than 98%.  We feel confident this new installation will further improve the consistency in our material quality.”

“Investments such as this enable us to stay on top of the benefits of new technology” added Katy Fulton, Interim Director at Bryson Recycling.  “We are a significant local employer and that means running a profitable business that is open to change and innovation. I am confident these additional waste picking robots will bring material quality benefits to Bryson and to our customers”.

Speaking about this investment, Recycleye CEO Victor Dewulf said “We are delighted that Bryson Recycling has chosen to continue working with us to build on their initial investment in our AI-powered waste robots.  This is a strong statement of confidence in the value Recycleye robots bring to waste sorting and to the economics of materials recovery, and we are proud to be able to support Bryson.”