APR Plastics Recycling Showcase recognizes Max-AI AQC

The Max-AI AQC (Autonomous Quality Control) from Bulk Handling Systems (BHS), Eugene, Oregon, has been selected for recognition as a part of the Washington-based Association of Plastic Recyclers’ (APR’s) 2018 Plastics Recycling Showcase.

The Max-AI AQC was launched in 2017 by BHS and Nashville, Tennessee-based National Recovery Technologies (NRT). The selection was announced during the Feb. 19 APR Technical Forum, held in conjunction with the Plastics Recycling Conference in Nashville. NRT President Matthias Erdmannsdoerfer presented at the forum, and attendees visited NRT’s headquarters to see live demonstrations of the Max-AI AQC earlier in the day.

“We are honored to have been selected to participate in the APR’s Plastics Recycling Showcase,” Erdmannsdoerfer says. “With more than 40 orders on four continents, the Max-AI AQC has generated tremendous industry excitement and acceptance, and we’re really just getting started. We believe this technology is a breakthrough that will change the way the world recycles and permeate throughout the entire industrial recycling process. As longstanding members of the APR, we appreciate the association’s commitment to innovation and leadership in the development of the plastics recycling industry and its long-term growth.”

Max-AI technology is an artificial intelligence that identifies recyclables and other items for recovery. Max-AI employs multilayered neural networks and a vision system to see and identify objects similar to the way a person does, BHS says. The groundbreaking technology is driving improvements in material recovery facility (MRF) and plastics recovery facility (PRF) design, operational efficiency, recovery and purity, system optimization and maintenance. The Max-AI AQC combines this technology with a robotic sorter to pick and place up to six different material types in one location.

According to BHS and NRT, Max-AI allows MRFs and PRFs to run longer with lower operational expenses, produce more products with increased purity, capture accurate data for reporting and dynamic optimization and adapt over time to the changing material mix without major capital expenses.

The APR recognizes technology that has a positive impact on the ability of a package or container to be recycled. The APR says it promotes the development of the plastics recycling industry by providing leadership for long-term industry growth and vitality.

“We recognize that innovation drives the growth of recycling and is essential to the success of the plastic recycling industry,” the APR says. “The Showcase identifies, highlights and commends the industry’s leading innovations developed by APR member companies that support the growth of plastics recycling. The selections are intended to illustrate what others can do to advance plastics recycling.”