The rubbish revolution

I’ve said a bunch of times that:

• Garbage will be full of entrepreneurial opportunities this decade, and that;
• Waste management needs an Airbnb-level disruptor

The closest thing I’ve seen to this is Grey Parrot.

They’re a London-based tech company using AI to “accelerate the race to meet global recycling targets”, and power the circular economy – and they just raised $11m (USD) in Series A funding to keep doing it.

It’s not entirely clear to me how it works, but from what I can gather on their website, the A.I. can currently recognise around 50 different types of materials including plastic, fibre and metal, and somehow separates them out from other rubbish at the plant. They plan to expand it to recognise over 200 materials.

My pipe dream of being able to throw all rubbish into one bin and have it sorted automatically might only be around the corner.

When I’ve mentioned climate opportunities, and rubbish disruptors, and eye-watering amounts of funding being thrown around (with purpose) this is a perfect example of all of those.

I seriously believe rubbish is the new gold, and anyone getting involved now like Grey Parrot will be doing two great things: building a very sustainable business (in the business sense), and doing truly awesome things for the planet.