Adastra used IoT data to track the plastic waste recycling process
How many plastic bottles actually enter the recycling process?
Theory is one thing and reality tends to be another. The Czech Ministry of the Environment wanted to find out what really happens to plastic bottles after they are thrown into sorted bins for plastic waste. It commissioned Adastra to carry out a project using IoT technology to track the movement of sorted bottles, providing real-time data which would be used to improve the entire recycling process.
Adastra equipped 100 empty plastic bottles with advanced tracking chips and monitored their movement for 3 months. The custom-made IoT chips were designed to be environmentally friendly, safe and relatively inexpensive. They communicated with the IoT platform via wireless networks, enabling real-time tracking of the bottles’ position and condition.
The research provided insights into the state of recycling in the Czech Republic. The ministry had estimated that 75% of plastic bottles entering the Czech market end up in sorted waste. But was that accurate? IoT data revealed what actually happens during the plastic waste recycling process.
- The real-time data provided by the IoT solution informed the Ministry of the Environment that only 58.9% of bottles enter the recycling process.
- 19.3% of plastic bottles go to recycling centres, and 39.6% are sent to sorting facilities or collection yards.
- Despite what the law says, 11.8% of plastic bottles end up in landfills.
- Almost 10% of plastic bottles are exported abroad, to Slovakia and France to be exact.
- The goal for the future is to make sure that all bottles are actually sorted.