Closed Loop Recycling Process and System

Abstract

This invention relates to a closed loop process and system for collecting and recycling of materials commonly used for packaging. The process comprises the steps of collecting and sorting of items containing material to be recycled, creating one or more datasets relating to the portions of sorted materials containing information relating to the quantity and origin as well as identity, brand, type and/or quality of sorted material, and registering at least the quantity and origin and optionally also about identity, brand, type and/or quality of sorted material in a blockchain. Embodiments of the invention comprise performing software assisted item recognition for determining at least one property of an item.

Claims

1. A process for recycling material comprising the steps of: a. collecting a plurality of items of material that comprise one or more materials to be recycled, b. sorting the collected items of material according to their identity, brand, type and/or quality, to obtain portions of sorted material items, c. creating one or more datasets relating to the portions of sorted materials, the datasets containing information relating to the quantity and origin of sorted material, and further containing information about identity, brand, type and/or quality of the sorted material, d. reporting information at least about the quantity and origin of sorted material, and optionally also about identity, brand, type and/or quality, to a network of nodes for registration in a blockchain.

2. Process according to claim 1 wherein the step of sorting items of material includes for at least some of the plurality of items: separating items of material into smaller items according to their identity, type and/or quality.

3. Process according to claim 1 wherein the identity of an item refers to the identification of the item based on an identifier such as a tag or other features that are specific, or pseudo-specific to said individual item, the brand of an item refers to the origin of the item such as the items manufacturer or retailer, the type of an item refers to materials used in the item such as the polymer or polymer mixture that the item contains, the quality of the item refers to the status of the item such as the cleanliness, the purity relating to the material, or the size of the item, and/or the quantity refers to the weight, volume and/or number of material items.

4. Process according to claim 1 wherein the steps of collecting and sorting take place in the same or different locations, and/or wherein the process comprises the additional step of transferring items of material from a collecting entity to a sorting entity.

5. Process according to claim 4 wherein the process comprises the additional step of reporting at least the quantity of transferred material, and optionally also identity, brand, type and/or quality, to a network of nodes for registration in a blockchain.

6. Process according to claim 1, comprising the step of providing a material items database configured to store information about material items, such as type and weight of an item.

7. Process according to claim 1 wherein the sorting step comprises determining at least one property of an item, such as identity, brand, type, quality and/or quantity.

8. Process according to claim 7 wherein determining at least one property of an item comprises performing software assisted item recognition is utilized.

9. Process according to claim 7 wherein a machine learning method for determining at least one property of the item is utilized is utilized.

10. Process according to claim 7 wherein a supervised machine learning method, such as a support vector machine or an artificial neural net, for determining at least one property of the item is utilized.

11. Process according to claim 7 wherein determining at least one property of an item includes accessing information about raw material items from the material items database.

12. Process according to claim 7, wherein determining at least one property of an item comprises utilizing at least one item property capturing device such as a spectral sensor, a photometer, a camera, a weighing scale, a hardness tester, a QR code reader and/or a bar code reader.

13. Process according to claim 1 further comprising before step a. the step of providing a material items database configured to store information about material items, such as type and weight of an item, wherein step b. comprises determining at least one property of an item, such as identity, brand, type, quality and/or quantity, determining at least one property of an item comprises performing software assisted item recognition, a machine learning method for determining the at least one property of an item is utilized, and determining the at least one property of an item includes accessing information about raw material items from the material items database.

14. Process according to claim 1 further comprising the step of adding a block to the blockchain, the block containing information about at least the quantity of sorted material, and optionally also identity, brand, type and/or quality of sorted material.

15. Process according to claim 1 wherein the reported information is made available to one or more recyclers.

16. Process according to claim 1 wherein a material transfer from a delivering participant to a receiving participant is reported to the network of nodes, such as a material transfer from a collector to a sorter is reported by the collector.

17. Process according to claim 16, wherein a token transfer is executed by the blockchain.

18. Recycling system for recycling for recycling material, comprising at least one network of nodes administering a blockchain data structure configured to receive and store reported information at least about the quantity and origin of sorted material, and optionally also about identity, brand, type and/or quality, computer hardware and software run by a sorter configured a) to generate one or more datasets in a predetermined format, the datasets containing information relating to quantity, origin, identity, brand, type and/or quality of the recyclable material contained in the material items sorted, and b) to report the dataset(s) and/or all or a part of the available information at least about the quantity and origin of sorted material items, and optionally also about identity, brand, type and/or quality, to the network of nodes for registration in the blockchain; computer hardware and software run by a recycler configured to read the dataset(s) and/or all or a part of the information reported by the sorter.

19. System according to claim 18, wherein the system comprises means for performing software assisted image recognition configured to classify material items into categories.

20. System according to claim 18 wherein the system comprises means for performing software assisted image recognition which includes machine learning.

21. System according to claim 18 wherein the system comprises a material items database having material item information stored therein.

22. System according to claim 18 wherein the computer hardware is selected from a stationary computer, a portable computer, a smartphone, a server, and a tablet computer.

23. System according to claim 18 wherein the system comprises at least one collecting container comprising computer hardware and software for collecting information relating to quantity, identity, brand, type and/or quality of the material items.

24. System according to claim 18 wherein the system comprises at least one collecting container comprising computer hardware and software configured for performing software assisted image recognition configured to classify material items into categories.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0235] FIG. 1A A chart illustrating the flow of material items according to some processes and systems of this invention

[0236] FIG. 1B A chart illustrating the flow of material items and information reported into the blockchain according to some processes and systems of this invention

[0237] FIG. 2 A chart illustrating the flow of material items and tokens according to some processes and systems of this invention

PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0238] The following detailed description relates to a preferred illustrative embodiment that is to be understood as a non-limiting example of how the invention can be put into practice.

Production Step

[0239] In a production step a manufacturer of packaged goods uses plastic as a recyclable raw material for packaging. The manufacturer buys tokens equivalent to the volumes of plastic either used in the packaging that he introduces into the market. The manufacturer not only buys tokens registered in the blockchain data structure, but also reports volume and type of packaging material into the system.

Retail Step

[0240] Retailers may participate in the system of this invention by purchasing products from the manufacturer and by selling these products to consumers.

Consuming Step

[0241] Consumers buy the products sold by the retailer and dispose of the packaging material.

Collecting Step

[0242] Collectors collect the disposed packaging material from the consumer. The collectors can be a waste collection service provider or an individual who brings the collected packaging material to a reception center.

[0243] The collectors receive tokens from sorters based on quantity and quality of collected packaging material.

Sorting Step

[0244] Sorters sort the collected packaging material based on its type. For example, sorters sort the material into categories based on the type of plastic. Sorters may consolidate sorted packaging material into bales.

[0245] The sorter may use software assisted image recognition to separate different categories of packaging material. Software assisted image recognition may include machine learning. Software assisted image recognition can be done with minimum hardware investment. For example, software assisted image recognition can be done using a smart phone with a camera. This allows sorters to better differentiate between different types of materials so that higher prices can be achieved when the packaging material is sold to a recycler.

[0246] The sorter reports volume and type of packaging material into the blockchain. The sorter pays tokens to the collector based on quantity and quality of the collected material that the sorter received from the collector.

Recycling Step

[0247] The recycler receives material from the sorter, and confirms quantity and quality of the received bales. After confirmation, the recycler pays tokens to the sorter based on quantity and quality of the bales.

[0248] The recycler creates recycled raw material such as plastic pellets, and reports quantity and quality of recycled raw material into the blockchain. The recycler sells recycled raw material to a converter who produces new packaging material from the recycled raw material.

[0249] The recycling step includes chemical and/or mechanical recycling depending on the exact type of plastic packaging material and its purity.

Conversion Step

[0250] The converter pays tokens to the recycler based on quantity and quality of recycled raw material.

[0251] The converter consolidates sufficient material according to the desired specifications to produce new packaging material.

Role of the Blockchain

[0252] The information held in the blockchain drastically improves the efficiency of physical shipment of packaging material to specialized recyclers and allows full transparency as to quality levels, volumes et cetera. Furthermore, prices for many quality levels will be significantly more transparent.

[0253] Plastics has a myriad of manifestations. In general, its recyclability depends on how well sorted it is into specific material groups like PET, HDPE, etc. These groups are commonly assigned a number, such as 1 for PET, 2 for HDPE, etc. in many cases this number is imprinted on the bottom of the package.

[0254] Until today, only PET, HDPE, and clean fractions of LDPE and PP are recycled. The dirty and contaminated fractions of all other plastics are expensive to recycle, and are thus burnt for energy or landfilled, often landing in oceans.

[0255] By using the blockchain technology that registers the reports of quality and quantity of packaging material and facilitates transactions of tokens, all kinds of plastics can be recycled.

[0256] Payments of tokens may be implemented in the blockchain, using smart contracts.

Role of Software Assisted Image Recognition

[0257] Software assisted image recognition allows identification of the quality of packaging material, thereby facilitating proper categorization even of rare types of plastic. Software assisted image recognition may use machine learning algorithms to determine the quality of packaging material.

[0258] Machine learning algorithms may be trained with a large number of tagged images of packaging material, i.e. the training process may be a supervised or reinforced training.

[0259] Optionally, consumers may assist in training machine learning algorithms by providing images of packaging material. Consumers may be rewarded with tokens for their contribution.

[0260] The system of this invention can make software assisted image recognition available to all sorters and pickers of packaging material even in third world countries, thereby providing new income streams.

[0261] The software assisted image recognition may not only provide information about quality and type of packaging material, but also about brands.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0262] FIG. 1A illustrates the flow of material and material items according to preferred embodiments of this invention. Producer 100 produces items of material. The flow of material items is illustrated by solid arrows. The material items are transferred from producer 100 to retailer 200. Retailer 200 sells material items to consumers 300. Collector 400 collects material items from consumer 300 after use. Collector 400 transfers collected material to sorter 500. Sorter 500 transfers portions A, B, C of sorted material items to recycler 600. Recycler 600 transfers recycled material, e.g. pellets, to converter 700. Converter 700 transfers new items of recycled material to producer 100, thereby closing the circle. The invention is not limited to exactly this illustrative sequence of transfers. For example, producer 100 may also act as retailer 200, or there may be more than one retailer 200, or one or more wholesalers may be in the loop. Further, there may be different recyclers 600, e.g. each recycler 600 specialized in recycling specific types of material.

[0263] FIG. 1B illustrates the flow of information into a blockchain 800. The flow of information is illustrated by broken line arrows. Producer 100 reports information about produced quantity, and one or more of identity, brand, type and/or quality to the blockchain 800. The information will be included in the growing blockchain, thereby becoming immutable and in principle accessible by all user with access to the blockchain. In preferred embodiments, access to the information reported by producer 100 will be restricted, i.e. encrypted. Retailer 200 reports information about sold quantity, and one or more of identity, brand, type and/or quality to the blockchain 800. Access to the information reported by retailer 200 may be accessible to all, or encrypted. Collector 400 reports information about collected quantity, and one or more of identity, brand, type and/or quality to the blockchain 800. Access to the information reported by collector 400 may be accessible to all, or encrypted. Sorter 500 reports information about sorted quantities, and one or more of identity, brand, type and/or quality to the blockchain 800. Access to the information reported by sorter 500 may be accessible to all, or encrypted. Recycler 600 reports information about recycled quantities, and one or more of identity, brand, type and/or quality to the blockchain 800. Access to the information reported by recycler 600 may be accessible to all, or encrypted. Converter 700 reports information about converted quantities, and one or more of type and/or quality to the blockchain 800. Access to the information reported by converter 700 may be accessible to all, or encrypted. While the figure shows that reported information from different participants will be registered in different blocks of the blockchain, it is within the scope of this invention that information of more than one participant is written into one block of the blockchain. Further, it is also within the scope of the invention that the data may be collected on a server which then performs the task of creating derived data, e.g. a hash value, and reporting the derived data to the blockchain. The blockchain serves in this case only as a means for proving authenticity of the data and transactions recorded on the server.

[0264] FIG. 2 illustrates the flow of tokens among the participants of the system and process of this invention. The flow of tokens is illustrated by double-lined arrows. Producer 100 and retailer 200 buy tokens from the token exchange 900. The tokens are registered in a blockchain (not shown). The blockchain may the same blockchain as used for registering information about quantity, identity, brand, type and/or quality, or it may be a different blockchain. Consumers 300 may purchase tokens for green charity or speculation. Collector 400 receives tokens from sorter 500 who pays for the transfer of material items. Sorter 500 receives tokens from recycler 600 who pays for the transfer of material items. The payment can be effected with smart contracts processed by the blockchain. Converter 700 pays tokens to recycler 600 in return for recycled material. Converter 700 may receive tokens from producer 100 in exchange for converted material items. The tokens can be exchanged into fiat currency, and tokens can be bought with fiat currency.