Futuristic robots are saving tonnes of waste from landfill by ripping up shoes composed of multiple difficult-to-separate materials like polyester, foam and leather, which are particularly difficult to recycle.
Launched in Hendaye in southwest France, Cetia is the world’s first ‘innovation platform’ that can automatically remove the sole of a shoe.
It can have major impact on sustainability as Europe currently recycles just one per cent of its used textiles. The European Union has set ambitious textile recycling targets. By 2030, it intends to set a minimum content of recycled fibres in the composition of textiles.
Chloé Salmon Legagneur, director of Cetia says, “This machine uses a near infrared sensor to detect the material of the garment quite accurately – whether it’s 80 per cent cotton, 20 per cent polyester or 50/50. It allows us to detect this and to put together all the materials that have the same composition in the right bin.”
Cetia’s machine uses infrared technology to recognise the colour and composition of the fabric when two materials are mixed. The sorted garments pass through another machine that separates the ‘hard points’ – such as zips and buttons – from the fabric.
Further down the hall, another laser-cutting machine ensures that the fabric is not damaged when separated from other components.
Another artificial intelligence (AI) powered machine can distinguish a pocket from a collar, or a sleeve from a pair of trouser bottoms.
