Watching eye encourages plastics recycling
Vattenfall's FossilEye technology uses digital cameras to improve the sorting and recycling of plastic waste, which is an important way to reduce fossil carbon dioxide emissions from waste incineration.
Plastic in waste streams used for energy recovery is an unnecessary source of fossil carbon dioxide emissions.
To address this, Vattenfall, in collaboration with Tekniska Verken in Linköping and Umeå Energi, has initiated the development of a smart, portable facility designed to identify and measure the plastic content in waste prior to incineration.
Using a digital eye in the form of a camera, the tool quickly determines what is plastic and what type of plastic it is, hence the name FossilEye. This technology was developed by RoboWaste and tested at the three companies’ waste incineration facilities during 2023 and 2024. Diverting plastic from the waste stream increases the potential for plastic recycling.
More about circularity
The transition to a circular economy is an opportunity, and renewable energy is an important piece of the puzzle in driving the circular economy forward.
Transform to a more circular business
Circularity is essential to securing future resource needs, reducing costs, and achieving our sustainability targets.
See also
Circular design in heat transfer station
The Hakfort heat transfer station is part of the district heating network in Amsterdam.
Circularity in hydro power
Vattenfall has developed climate-smart hydro power concrete with a reduced cement content, which lowers CO2 emissions by around a quarter.
Creating demand for near-zero cement
Vattenfall and CemVision have partnered to develop and supply near-zero emission cement, which could reduce CO2 emissions by 95% compared to traditional cement by 2030.