SITA Finland to Install Robotic Recycling Process

SITA Finland Ltd., a subsidiary of European environmental services provider Suez Environnement, and ZenRobotics Ltd., a Finland-based manufacturer of robotic recycling equipment, have announced a deal for what the companies describe as the world's first multiple robot recyclable materials sorting process.

SITA Finland will take delivery of two ZenRobotics Recycler (ZRR) systems: one ZRR Heavy Picker and one ZRR Fast Picker. This brings the SITA Finland site to a total of three robotic systems. A ZRR test system has been running at SITA Finland since 2011.

According to the companies, the ZenRobotics Recycler^TM picks raw materials from construction and demolition waste safely and “with unprecedented efficiency.” The ZRR system has proven capable of increasing SITA Finland’s Helsinki plant’s recovery rate of C&D materials from 70 percent to 90 percent. The project’s target is for a rate of more than 95 percent. Suez Environnement subsidiaries globally (in Europe and Australia) are following the project’s progress closely, according to the companies.

“Sustainable re-use of raw materials is key,” says Jorma Kangas, CEO of SITA Finland Ltd. “SITA is now introducing a revolutionary technology to waste management. This strengthens our position as a supplier of high-quality industrial raw materials in Finland.”

The ZenRobotics Recycler is described as an artificial-intelligence-controlled robotic recycling system designed to reclaim raw materials from construction and demolition waste. The system is marketed globally through a reseller network in 49 countries.

SITA specializes in water and waste management with operations on all continents and in more than 100 countries. SITA Finland employs 350 people, with revenue of about €79 million ($103 million) in 2011.