Latest news with #Greyparrot
Entrepreneur
12 hours ago
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Waste Not, Want Tech
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. You're reading Entrepreneur United Kingdom, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. In the tech world, 'waste' rarely makes the shortlist of blue-chip market opportunities. But for Mikela Druckman, co-founder and CEO of Greyparrot, a clean-tech company using artificial intelligence (AI) to revolutionise waste sorting and recycling, the status quo was a glaring omission. "Depth over breadth has been hugely important for us. From day one, we made a deliberate decision to focus on the waste industry - an under-digitised sector with massive environmental and economic impact." The bet on waste paid off - and fast. By focusing tightly on what she calls "deep domain expertise in waste analytics," Greyparrot turned ignorance into insight and insight into impact. The power of focus Rather than spreading thin, Greyparrot doubled down on a single sector and on one type of technology. "A big early bet was our approach to hardware. While we do deploy hardware to gather data, we made a conscious decision not to build robotic arms or complex recycling plant machinery ourselves." Their team built software that works with existing hardware in recycling plants - from Bollegraaf to Van Dyk - enabling rapid scale without reinventing industrial infrastructure. "That choice set us apart. It allowed us to scale faster, stay agile, and focus on what we do best: building industry-leading AI models, data infrastructure, and integrations that work across any plant setup. We recognised early on that access to large-scale, high-quality data would be one of the most valuable assets we could build - and that's become a core strength." Building with partners Greyparrot's growth model rests on collaboration. By partnering with established players the company expanded from day one - globally. "Greyparrot is an AI and data software specialist, and we partner with the best in the business when it comes to plant builders, robotics, and system integration." These alliances were strategic turbochargers. Together with Bollegraaf and Van Dyk, Greyparrot deployed its systems across 20 countries, analysing tens of billions of waste objects annually. "Today, we're proud to be a global clean tech leader." Reframing waste as gold The world's fastest-growing consumer goods sector was generating almost no intelligence, and Druckman turned that ignorance into opportunity with hard metrics: "In one instance, a single contamination alert from our system saved a European facility £47,000 in reprocessing costs and fines. In another, our AI identified an aluminium sorting issue in minutes - saving £48,000 on a single batch of material." Those case studies became proof. And with packaging under regulatory pressure, Greyparrot's ability to trace material flow upstream - into manufacturing - unlocked a new narrative: "We're helping brands understand the downstream consequences of their packaging design decisions… Insights don't just enhance recycling - they directly inform packaging design, support regulatory compliance, and accelerate progress toward circularity goals." Greyparrot's Deepnest platform takes consumer goods companies into live-feedback mode. Instead of theoretical recyclability, they can now see what happens to packaging post-consumption - data that could prompt rapid design shifts. Eyes wide open When AI meets real-world complexity, blind spots reveal themselves. Greyparrot found wasted money hiding in unexpected places: "I was surprised by the scale of invisible inefficiencies…Over the last year alone, our systems detected and categorised over 40bn waste objects into 111 categories, revealing massive shifts in quality and contamination over the course of a single day." Packing shrink sleeves and resistant materials like Tetra Pak - designed without recycling in mind - became tangible examples of downstream effects. "Take Lucozade bottles - their full plastic shrink sleeve meant that they weren't being recognised by recycling machinery, so they spent £6m to redesign more sustainable products." With real-time data, companies can emerge with 10–20% recovery gains in a single shift. Opportunities in the $3tn waste sector Waste's disruptability is debated, but Druckman points to three major shifts driving this opportunity: 1. Smarter hardware integration, with AI embedded into the sorting process. 2. AI retrofits for legacy plants, offering high ROI without new infrastructure. 3. Emerging data-driven compliance, led through platforms like Deepnest - connecting material flow to brand decisions. "Analysing 15 tonnes of waste typically takes a trained staff member around 375 hours. With AI, it takes six." For entrepreneurs, this suggests embedding your tech, retrofitting old systems, or influencing upstream incentives - while leaving physical assets in place. The reality check Greyparrot's success isn't a fairy tale. The company has survived pandemics, downturns, and hyper-cautious fundraising environments. "One of the biggest lessons that's shaped how we've built Greyparrot is the importance of resilience - not just in the technology, but in the business itself." Steady growth and autonomy in her team proved that momentum didn't rely on a singular figure. "During my second maternity leave, the team not only kept things running - they delivered growth in both headcount and revenue." That's not just good leadership; it's a replicable organisational structure fit for start-ups scaling globally. A circular future Looking ahead, Druckman sees AI as the operating system for recycling plants, but the bigger play lies elsewhere: "AI is laying the foundation for circular decision-making. Data from waste is now flowing upstream to inform how products are designed, tested, and improved - closing the loop between packaging innovation and recyclability." Plants are just the beginning. The next layer is connecting recycling feedback to packaging, design, and supply chains. "Entrepreneurs will play a huge role in scaling this transformation, and that's what we're doing with Deepnest." By rethinking rubbish, Greyparrot shows how innovation can recycle old problems into new possibilities - a truly circular success story.
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Greyparrot unveils new AI platform to offer recyclable waste insights
Waste analytics solutions provider Greyparrot has introduced Deepnest, an AI-powered waste intelligence platform. This system provides brands with direct access to their recyclable waste data, addressing a significant knowledge gap in post-use product life cycles caused by limited waste infrastructure and inadequate data availability. Deepnest delivers precise insights into packaging performance, enabling brands to refine their products and business models. By 2040, regulations such as virgin plastic taxes and extended producer responsibility fees are projected to cost global businesses up to $100bn annually, stated Greyparrot. Extending the packaging's life cycle is essential for enhancing circularity and mitigating financial risks, according to the company. Consumer goods companies currently invest millions in product innovation, testing facilities, and consultancy services to improve their packaging, but often lack real-world data to verify these efforts. Deepnest addresses this by offering granular, product-specific data that tracks packaging performance across brands, materials, and regions. It provides clarity on how packaging navigates the waste stream, detailing what is sorted, recycled, or lost, relying solely on objective, data-driven evidence, without reliance on estimates. The platform further equips brands with tailored recommendations to optimise their packaging design, including adjustments to shape, colour, and material composition. Greyparrot co-founder Ambarish Mitra said: 'The term 'waste' is itself a misnomer - our data shows that post-consumption materials are worth billions to our global economy. For too long, brands have had to operate with little visibility into their packaging's end-of-life.' Major consumer goods brands and packaging manufacturers, including Unilever and Amcor, are currently trialling Greyparrot's technology to adapt to the evolving waste management landscape and leverage its insights. Unilever deodorants global R&D head Liz Smith said: 'AI-enabled waste intelligence tools have great potential to provide new visibility into how packaging is actually being sorted and processed in real-world recycling systems.' In May 2024, Greyparrot teamed up with VAN DYK Recycling Solutions, which serves over 50% of the US waste management market. Together, they will retrofit large materials recovery facilities with advanced AI sorting technology to enhance recycling rates, improve material purity, and digitally measure emissions. "Greyparrot unveils new AI platform to offer recyclable waste insights" was originally created and published by Packaging Gateway, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Greyparrot Launches World-First AI Platform to Unlock $100B in Waste Data on Brand Circularity
Unilever, Asahi, and Amcor are among the initial global brands and packaging producers trialing Deepnest to design more sustainable packaging LONDON, June 24, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Greyparrot, a global leader in waste analytics, has launched Deepnest: a world-first AI waste intelligence platform that gives brands direct access to their recyclable waste data. What happens to products when they become waste is a knowledge gap for most industries. This is due to limitations of waste infrastructure and a lack of available data. Deepnest plugs this knowledge gap, unlocking post-use packaging performance insights to help brands shape their products and business models. Recyclable materials offer a powerful opportunity for both business growth and environmental gains, but brands aren't able to fully tap into this potential. By 2040, regulations like virgin plastic taxes and EPR fees could cost global businesses up to $100 billion[RB1] every year. With 95% of plastic packaging discarded after a single use,[RB2] keeping materials in the value chain longer is key to improving circularity and reducing financial risk. Consumer goods brands currently spend millions annually on product innovation, testing centers, and consultants to improve their packaging, but lack the real-world data to validate these developments. Greyparrot's latest product, Deepnest, delivers detailed, product-level data to brands. This unlocks commercial insights by tracking packaging performance by brand, material, product type, and region. It reveals exactly how packaging moves through the waste system: what's sorted, recycled, or lost. No assumptions or guesswork: just the objective, data-led truth. Powered by Greyparrot Analyzer AI-camera systems in material recovery facilities, Deepnest relies on the world's most comprehensive household packaging waste database - these systems process over 40 billion waste objects annually across more than 20 countries. Greyparrot currently detects $1 billion worth of recyclable materials in the waste streams it monitors, and estimates that, if rolled out globally, its systems could uncover up to $100 billion in recyclable value every year by 2040. Using this data, Deepnest then provides brands with actionable insights, generating tailored recommendations to improve packaging, from shape and color to material composition. This allows brands to measure the real-world impact of their product innovations for the first time. Brands can use Deepnest to: Benchmark packaging recycling performance against competitors and category standards Test and compare packaging formats within sub-brands before scaling across the full portfolio Identify specific design elements that reduce recyclability in priority markets Quantify the impact of R&D efforts, packaging innovations, and circularity interventions Greyparrot's ultimate ambition is that Deepnest will not only reduce financial risk, but help brands keep much higher volumes of their recyclable waste in their own value chain. This provides financial value as well as driving a more transparent and truly circular economy. Ambarish Mitra, Co-founder of Greyparrot, said: "The term 'waste' is itself a misnomer – our data shows that post-consumption materials are worth billions to our global economy. For too long, brands have had to operate with little visibility into their packaging's end-of-life. Empowering brands with real-world data on their products' recyclability gives them a huge competitive advantage, which is exactly what Deepnest is designed to do. As regulations tighten and consumer demands grow, winners will be those who act on real-time insight — and can prove it." Unilever and Amcor are some of the major consumer goods brands and packaging producers trialing Greyparrot's technology to navigate the changing landscape for waste material and unlock its business-critical insights. Dr Liz Smith, Global R&D Head of Deodorants at Unilever, said: "AI-enabled waste intelligence tools have great potential to provide new visibility into how packaging is actually being sorted and processed in real-world recycling systems. Our goal is to reduce our virgin plastic use and make our plastic packaging reusable, recyclable or compostable - and insights like these could critically help to inform future packaging design, enable recyclability in practice and at scale, and increase the supply of high-quality recycled materials." Sandra Gibbs, Chief Supply Chain Officer at Asahi Beverages, said: "Asahi Beverages has made big strides in sustainable packaging, including switching to 100% recycled plastic bottles for brands like Pepsi Max, Solo, Schweppes, and Sunkist. We also operate Australia's largest PET recycling facility—a joint venture with Coca-Cola Europacific Partners—and we've been looking for real-time data to help maximize its impact. That's why we installed Greyparrot Analyzers to unlock operational data to improve recycling quality and output. Deepnest can transform that data into insights to guide smarter packaging design from the outset. We're exploring how this technology can help us embed a data-driven approach across the entire packaging lifecycle, moving us closer to 100% circular packaging." Mark Roberts, Circular Economy Director at Amcor, said: "The packaging industry relies on lab-scale testing and software models to predict recyclability of packaging solutions, but actual real-life data is missing, given the huge resources it would take to get real waste data at scale from operating facilities. With Greyparrot's AI-powered waste intelligence, Deepnest is unlocking real-world recyclability data that the packaging data chain has been missing." [RB1] [RB2] About GreyparrotGreyparrot ( is using AI to revolutionize the resource value chain by gathering previously unavailable data on waste streams. Its systems collect real-time data on global waste streams, detecting over 40 billion waste objects in 2024 alone. In the process, the company has created one of the world's most comprehensive waste datasets. That data equips recyclers, brands, and regulators with actionable intelligence to improve efficiency, accountability, and sustainability in the global resource ecosystem. Media Contact:Kyle AustinBMV for Greyparrot6175640446KYLE@ View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Greyparrot Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Fox News
19-04-2025
- Business
- Fox News
Stop sorting your garbage with this new technology
Ever wondered what happens to the recyclables you carefully sort and place in your bin? For years, recycling has been a crucial part of our efforts to reduce waste and protect the environment. However, the recycling industry has faced significant challenges, from rising costs to labor shortages. But what if technology could transform this process, making recycling faster, more efficient and actually effective? That's exactly what AMP Robotics, a Colorado-based company, is working toward. At the heart of AMP's innovation is its artificial intelligence platform, which uses deep learning to analyze millions of images of waste. This technology enables robots to identify recyclable materials by recognizing patterns in colors, textures, shapes and logos, spotting a stray plastic bottle in a sea of trash faster than any human. AMP's systems not only enhance sorting speed but also reduce contamination, a critical issue in recycling that affects the quality of materials that can be reused. AMP's founder, Matanya Horowitz, highlights the stagnation of U.S. recycling rates and notes that AMP's technology is designed to recover more materials and optimize waste operations. This means more of what you recycle actually gets reused, reducing waste and supporting a cleaner environment. The recycling industry faces significant challenges, including rising costs, stricter contamination standards and labor shortages. AMP's robots work around the clock, eliminating the need for manual sorting and addressing workforce challenges. With over 400 AI systems deployed worldwide, the company is scaling its impact globally. This technology could transform your local recycling center, making it more efficient and effective. In addition to sorting, AMP's technology contributes to broader goals, like extending landfill life and diverting organic waste. It also supports municipalities and waste companies by lowering operational costs and capturing more material value. AMP Robotics is not alone in harnessing the power of artificial intelligence to transform waste management. Across Europe and the U.K., companies like Greyparrot and Recycleye are deploying innovative AI technologies to improve sorting efficiency and reduce contamination in recycling centers. Greyparrot's AI-powered waste analytics use cameras and machine learning to monitor waste streams in real time, providing detailed insights into material composition. This helps centers maximize resource recovery and supports the transition to a circular economy. Similarly, Recycleye employs robotic arms equipped with AI to automate sorting processes, increasing the purity of recovered materials and boosting productivity. These advancements are also encouraging manufacturers to redesign packaging for easier recycling. AI applications extend far beyond sorting lines. For instance, WestRock is leveraging AI to design sustainable packaging that replaces plastics with fiber-based alternatives. Their innovations include creating packaging resistant to water and grease while maintaining recyclability, helping brands transition to more eco-friendly solutions. Municipalities are also adopting AI-driven recycling systems, such as Tasmania's $24 million materials recovery site, which processes recyclables from thousands of households using advanced AI sorting systems. In metals recycling, AI is being used to predict market trends by analyzing large volumes of data on prices, supply, demand and trade patterns. This allows recyclers to optimize inventory management and production based on anticipated demand for specific metals. Together, these efforts illustrate how artificial intelligence is reshaping waste management globally, making recycling more efficient, sustainable and impactful. The impact of AI-powered recycling could be profound for your community. By making recycling faster, smarter and more efficient, innovations like AMP's offer hope for a more sustainable future. As recycling becomes more effective, it could inspire changes in how we consume and dispose of waste, ultimately making a tangible difference in the environment around us. Do you think AI technologies could inspire individuals to recycle more, knowing their efforts are being handled more effectively? Let us know by writing us at For more of my tech tips and security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Follow Kurt on his social channels Answers to the most asked CyberGuy questions: New from Kurt: Copyright 2025 All rights reserved.
