Recent technological advances in polymer recognition and spectrometer/camera optical management software, have made it possible to utilise optical sorting for many applications. Optical sorting solutions are now available for glass, plastics, fibre and metals.

New glass sorting systems offer MRF operators the ability to recover 95% of all glass from as low as 5mm fraction size. Further to this, the latest recognition technology identifies glass colours through labels, in compost streams and has excellent pyro-ceramic rejection properties.

Recent tests in high volume European Materials Recovery Facilities have demonstrated that furnace ready colour sorted glass can be produced from co-mingled recyclables.