Increasing population and high growth rates globally result in an increasingly serious challenge to provide sufficient resources and energy. At the same time the world's waste strongly increase because of the growing prosperity. Therefor, there is a crucial need for an efficient use of resources. And already now there is a strong market demand for secondary raw materials.

In Denmark, the government has declared a goal of more recycling and less waste incineration. Increased recycling will have positive climate perspectives, since it could produce significant CO2 savings.It is an overarching objective of the innovation consortium INNOSORT to increase the recycling of valuable materials in the waste still not recycled efficiently through the existing waste systems.Therefore INNOSORT develop technologies that can sort our waste by chemical composition and shape. It also makes it possible to filter out environmentalhazardous substances and recyclable scarce resources.

Such technologies are in demand worldwide, and the project has a very large export potential to create new jobs in Denmark. INNOSORT is supported by the Innovation Fund with 16.7 million. kr.

The parties to the Innovation Consortium are

INNOSORT is a consortium that brings together technology suppliers, research and knowledge institutions and customers of waste separation techniques and separated materials. All parties are eager to increase the recycling of valuable materials in the development of:

• new future-proof sensor based sorting technology
• new methods for prioritizing optimal collection and sorting strategies that take account of the ongoing changes in waste composition outlets, market and regulatory requirements.

The technological development of various sensor technologies, now makes it possible to combine different systems in multi sensor systems that are far better than previously and can distinguish between different materials. These sensor technologies converge with a very strong development in robotics and automation technology. A technological basis for developing a more sophisticated automatic sorting for the future.

Examples of specific products that may be developed in the project are:

• automated / robotic sorting units
• new hyperspectral sensor systems
• tools for assessing and optimizing waste management systems
• generic tool for product designers to optimize the end-of-life product.

The idea for the project emanates from specific issues and demand from companies in the collection, sorting and marketing of waste and recycled materials. 

The primary focus of INNOSORT are:

• high value waste materials from households and industry, which today are not fully utilized, for example, plastic
• Products containing critical raw materials such as 1: metals (e.g., copper and platinum), 2: semiconductor materials (e.g., germanium, gallium, indium), 3: rare earth (e.g., neodymium contained, inter alia, electrical and electronic equipment)
• products containing hazardous and environmentally harmful substances to be separated in order to achieve an acceptable material quality.

The project runs from October 2012 to September 2016