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shredder producer Pronar in Poland.
The company exports machinery to
more than 80 countries. Their custom-
ers include recyclers on remote
islands. ‘French overseas islands like
Reunion, Mauritius in the Indian
Ocean, Guadeloupe, Martinique and
other French territories offer growing
business for us.’
These islands have implemented envi-
ronmental regulations similar to their
motherland France and have no
choice other than to adapt. ‘These
island communities need to invest in
tools and machines that help them in
doing recycling in a proper way.’
Shredder supplier Hammel of
Germany has also witnessed growing
demand from recyclers in the
Caribbean in recent years. ‘We’ve
delivered many machines to these
islands.’ Among Hammel’s most
remote customers, however, is a recy-
cler in Alaska.
MOBILE RECYCLING TOOL FOR REMOTE AREAS
What has been called ‘a groundbreaking solution’ is
reshaping waste recovery in remote places, especially
on islands. The EU-funded Reclaim project has unveiled
a mobile, AI-powered robotic recycling plant designed
for use in such infrastructure-limited areas. Initially
deployed in the Greek Islands, the compact system is
housed in a container and can be quickly transported
and set up wherever needed. The unit uses multiple
robots equipped with different pickers to accurately
identify and sort a wide range of waste types.
‘This allows efficient, decentralised recovery close to the
source – boosting recycling rates and supporting circular
economy goals, particularly for plastics,’ says Reclaim.
Researcher Javier Grau sums up the system’s versatility:
‘It can be used in rural communi-
ties, on islands, at festivals and in
tourist hotspots with fluctuating
waste volumes.’
Funded by the EU’s Horizon
2020 programme, the Reclaim
consortium includes research
centres, universities and tech
partners across Europe. ‘This
mobile plant opens up new pos-
sibilities – from managing marine
waste in ports to improving the
sorting of complex materials like
bioplastics.’
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