Tomra unveils “future of plastics recycling” at PRSE 2019

Tomra Sorting Recycling has launched its Innosort Flake plastic waste sorting machine in Europe, billing it as “the future of plastics recycling”.

The compact-size machine combines a number of Tomra-developed technologies, including dual-sensor sorting, to offer an all-in-one solution for colour and polymer sorting.

The European launch, during the Plastics Recycling Show Europe 2019 in Amsterdam, followed the machine’s debut in China late last year and in Turkey & Eurasia in March.

Innosort Flake features Tomra’s patented Flying Beam technology, which offers continuous signal correction and has integrated light source through which customers can monitor and optimise the performance of their operations on a real time basis.

Equipped with cameras, NIR (near-infrared) sensors, and a 50cm chute the machine comes in three formats and can have a throughput of up to 4.5 tonnes per hour.

“We are here, first of all, to be present in the market. And of course, we want to launch this machine in Europe,” said Fabrizio Radice, VP, head of global sales and marketing recycling, Tomra, speaking to Plastics News Europe.

Tomra, which is a leading supplier of bottle sorter machinery to recyclers, can see growing demand for the newly-launched system.

“The advantage is that the interface is the same as the ones used in our bottle sorting machines and you can integrate the systems easily with the same software,” explained Radice.

The machinery supplier is also confident that its global service reach will be a key for the success of the solution.

“We offer technical service everywhere in the world, with local personnel and local language. We also have training programmes twice a year for every Tomra service provider, including our global partners,” the Tomra VP added.

Helped by local regulations such as the EU plastics strategy and the Chinese ban on waste imports, Tomra has seen its plastics sorting profits grow in 2018. In addition to the plastics sorting operations, Tomra also has food and metal sorting businesses.

The growth momentum, according to Radice, is particularly strong in southeast Asia, China, the Middle East and Russia.

And geographical expansion is not the only area of growth. Tomra is now focusing on developing solutions for “challenging applications.”

For instance, the company has recently launched its Sharp Eye solution, which is capable of separating mono-layer PET trays from PET bottles.

Another recent development has been the launch of laser object detection (LOD) system, which enables detecting black plastic, glass and waste item which are undetected by NIR.

Both Sharp Eye and LOD can be retrofitted on Tomra machinery, according to Radice.

In addition to supplying machinery, Tomra is also working global partners, including brand owners and virgin material suppliers and institutions such as the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, to support and enhance the circular economy principles.

“The cooperation spans both collection and recycling, which are integral parts of the circular economy... The message we are delivering, is [future of] food 2030 and circular economy,” Radice concluded