How Do Recycling Facilities Sort Different Kinds of Plastic?

Recycling facilities handle a wide variety of plastics that often look similar as they move quickly along sorting lines, making it challenging to keep material streams clean and high value. NIST’s “How Do Recycling Facilities Sort Different Kinds of Plastic?” explains how materials recovery facilities combine mechanical systems with sensor-based tools to separate plastics, highlighting technologies such as near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy that read a material’s “fingerprint” from reflected light to distinguish different resins at high speed.

The article also connects these technical advances to broader circular economy goals by showing how better sorting improves the quality of recycled feedstocks, reduces contamination, and creates more reliable supply for manufacturers interested in using recycled content. As NIST and its partners continue to refine data, algorithms, and measurement methods, recycling operations can make smarter use of automation and AI-enabled tools to tackle harder-to-sort plastics and enhance overall system performance—unlocking new opportunities in sustainable materials and recycling-focused innovation.

Read the entire article here.