Driving packaging circularity: How AI is transforming waste management

Circularity has become a shared priority by partners across the value chain, from packaging producers to brands, policymakers and consumers. Add to that, single-use plastic bans and extended producer responsibility measures in multiple regions, there is a heightened urgency to keep packaging materials in use – and out of the environment.

However, full visibility into the fate of packaging can be challenging. What really happens to packaging after it’s tossed in the recycling bin? Which materials actually make it through the recycling process? Is there a way to accelerate the journey from trash to another use?

Amcor’s collaboration with Greyparrot, a winner of the Amcor Lift-Off initiative, connects artificial intelligence (AI) waste analytics with industry partners to provide actionable insights into the full lifecycle of packaging. We spoke with Greyparrot’s Chief Operating Officer Gaspard Duthilleul, to learn how their AI technology creates improved transparency across the value chain, and how packaging companies and brand owners can benefit from this cutting-edge technology.

Q: Can you tell us more about how Greyparrot’s technology works?
A: Our AI waste analytics system detects every piece of used packaging entering a sorting or recycling plant through monitoring units that are positioned over conveyor belts. In 2024, we detected over 40 billion waste objects at sorting facilities in 20+ countries, helping global recyclers increase recovery rates.

We are now using our data to create a digital map of the world's waste flows – a complete picture of what happens when resources are discarded. This unlocks applications for waste data across the entire packaging value chain. For the first time, brands and packaging producers will be able to analyze the true recyclability of consumer packaged goods (CPGs) on a global scale.

Q: How is your partnership with Amcor advancing adoption of that technology?
A: Amid stricter regulation, and increasing consumer and environmental demands, the need to deliver more sustainable packaging is increasing for CPG brands and packaging companies. Partnering with a large, global packaging leader like Amcor helps us put the power of waste intelligence in the hands of more producers, increasing our technology’s impact at the top of the value chain. Amcor’s support and expertise helps us make waste intelligence insights accessible to CPG packaging producers, helping guide substantial improvements to the lifecycle of their packaging.

Q. How is this technology advantageous to brand owners and packaging companies?
A: Brands and packaging producers have had difficulty accessing the data they need to ensure that their products are being recycled in real-world facilities. Our global datasets and detailed brand and SKU recognition can deliver that data and provide a feedback loop for design changes. Questions such as “Are my products being recycled?” “How will new designs and materials affect recovery rates?” and, “What can I do to ensure my packaging is recycled?” can finally be answered. Detailed information on recycled SKUs provides a level of transparency that was previously unavailable, which will prove crucial ahead of extended producer responsibility (EPR) fee modulation.

Q: What are the future plans for Greyparrot?
A: Partnerships with key industry players like Amcor support our growth in the packaging sector, and expand the environmental impact of our data. There are currently over 140 Greyparrot Analyzer units active in 55 global facilities, and we plan to expand our global coverage significantly. With each new Analyzer deployment, our datasets grow exponentially: in 2023, we analyzed around 800 objects per second; and, by 2024, that number jumped to more than 1,200.

Our aim is to empower stakeholders with that data and, importantly, the waste intelligence insights that arise from it. By gathering packaging data that impacts the top and bottom of the value chain, we want to create a positive feedback loop that drives both recyclability and the use of recyclates.

Learn more about Greyparrot and their services

Learn more about Amcor Lift-Off

Image caption: Amcor and Greyparrot representatives visit a sorting center using Greyparrot technology.
L-R Gaspard Duthilleul, Chief Operating Officer; Rebecca Meile, Manager Corporate Venturing & Open Innovation, Amcor; Frank Lehmann, Vice President Corporate Venturing & Open Innovation, Amcor; Gerald Rebitzer, Senior Director Sustainability and Public Affairs, Amcor; and Tiziana Giordano, Head of Growth, Greyparrot.