Plastic Identification Anywhere
The aim of the “Plastic Identification Anywhere” project was to make plastic identification easy and accessible for anyone around the world!
Although 75% of consumer plastic waste is just made from five types of plastic (PE, PET, PP, PS, PVC)¹ they often look and feel the same. The current method is sorting by hand, which is time consuming, labour-intensive and requires knowledge about plastic to sort each different type.
With a Study & Research grant of FAST, Jerry is building a prototype for his Plastic Scanner which can identify these 5 most common plastics and help hand sorters at the front lines of plastic recycling make their work easier and more reliable.
During the last six months, the idea has been transformed from a lab prototype to a working demonstrator, improving the working principle. He has added all functionalities to make it a handheld device to be used by the informal recycling sector in Kenya, India and Mauritius.
Gotten curious about his idea? Take a look at www.plasticscanner.com for more information.
1) Mutha, N. H., Patel, M., & Premnath, V. (2006). Plastics materials flow analysis for India. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 47(3), 222–244. doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2005.09.003
