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Optical sorting started as a way to separate recyclables from waste – but the same underlying technology, refined over decades, now shows up in industries that have nothing to do with recycling at all.
Optical sorting has its roots in relatively simple colour-based separation, but the technology has evolved substantially – from basic colour sensors to systems capable of identifying material composition, shape and even surface condition.
Early optical sorters could distinguish materials mainly by colour and reflectivity – useful for some separations but limited when materials looked visually similar despite being chemically different. Advances in sensor technology and processing power gradually extended what optical sorting could detect, opening up far more precise separations.
In waste management, this evolution translated into the ability to separate plastics by polymer type, sort glass by colour and contamination, and identify metals and other materials within mixed streams – separations that simply weren't possible with earlier generations of equipment.
That same underlying capability extends beyond recycling – the pharmaceutical industry uses optical sorting for quality control and contaminant detection, and the food industry uses it to identify foreign objects and sort produce by quality. PICVISA's experience across these applications reflects how far optical sorting has come from its origins in simple waste separation.
Explore our solutionsGet in touch with our team to discover how PICVISA's optical sorting and robotics solutions can fit your recycling operation.