recAIcle: An Intelligent Assistance System for Manual Waste Sorting—Validation and Scalability

Innovations in manual waste sorting have stagnated for decades, despite the increasing global demand for efficient recycling solutions. The recAIcle system introduces an innovative AI-powered assistance system designed to modernise manual waste sorting processes. By integrating machine learning, continual learning, and projection-based augmentation, the system supports sorting workers by highlighting relevant waste objects on the conveyor belt in real time. The system learns from the decision-making patterns of experienced sorting workers, enabling it to adapt to operational realities and improve classification accuracy over time. Various hardware and software configurations were tested with and without active tracking and continual learning capabilities to ensure scalability and adaptability. The system was validated in initial trials, demonstrating its ability to detect and classify waste objects and providing augmented support for sorting workers with high precision under realistic recycling conditions. A survey complemented the trials and assessed industry interest in AI-based assistance systems. Survey results indicated that 82% of participating companies expressed interest in supporting their staff in manual sorting by using AI-based technologies. The recAIcle system represents a significant step toward digitising manual waste sorting, offering a scalable and sustainable solution for the recycling industry.