Container Deposit Systems Wins Innovation Award
Container Deposit Systems, in partnership with Sage Automation and NORD Australia is delighted to announce on May 2, 2018 we were award the “2018 Packaging & Processing Innovation and Design Awards (PIDA) in the Sustainable Packaging Design Category”.
The award was given for the company’s development of a ground-breaking beverage container sorting and counting system using adaptable vision technology.
Developed in partnership with Sage Automation, Macweld Industries and University of South Australia, the new recycling system takes thousands of images per item to identify and sort glass, plastic, aluminium, milk and juice containers returned in any condition by people in the community seeking their 10-cent deposit.
The innovative technology creates efficiency process improvements for recycling facilities. This means, more waste can be recycled and sorted in current timeframes. The timeliness of the new technology is especially important as Australia attempts to manage the impact of the China Export Waste Ban.
The Container Deposit System technology improves safety and accuracy and creates digital logs of all materials collected. This results in multi-factory learning which will support the overall industry efficiencies and lead to better general management of Australia’s waste. Further, the wireless capabilities can generate reports for government and regulators in real time.
“This award is a true recognition of the effort and resources invested in this technology,” said Brett Duncanson, Executive Chair Container Deposit Systems, “We are delighted to be contributing to the solution of the waste crisis and, it gives Container Deposit Systems additional confidence and credibility to launch our technology to the domestic and international markets.”
In conjunction with the PIDA Innovation Award, Container Deposit Systems will now launch its world first innovative technology to the Australian Container Deposit market.
Australia is undergoing a transformation in recycling with states around the nation implementing the South Australia style Container Deposit Scheme throughout 2017 and 2018.
Importance of Industry Investment
Over the past four years, Container Deposit Systems has invested $3.5M into the local economy to develop the state of the art recycling technology.
In addition to supporting the wider Waste Management Industry, the new Container Deposit Systems technology is forecast to have major positive impacts on the job economy in Australia.
Chief executive of The Waste Management Association of Australia, Gayle Sloan said 10 jobs could be created for every 10,000 tonnes of recycled material in Australia.[i] This result would be evident with increased industry and government investment into the Waste Management Industry.
Green Industries SA has forecast that smart investments and the creation of a circular recycling economy would create 25,700 jobs in South Australia alone.[ii]
The Container Deposit Systems technology was created with the assistance of grants from Green Industries SA, which provides SA Government funding for businesses and industry to develop new products and technology for waste management and resource efficiency. This example shows how government and business can work together to benefit the overall industry.
What’s next for Container Deposit Systems?
The launch of the new Container Deposit Systems technology this month (May 2018) is highly anticipated by industry and government.
The company is currently working with South Australian recycling facilities as South Australia has a long experience of container deposit systems (launching the first system more than 40 years ago).
“The knowledge and understanding of the intricacies of container recycling and the broader industry, makes South Australia the perfect environment to launch our innovation,” said Duncanson, “we are based in South Australia and are proud to enable SA businesses to lead the charge in recycling innovation.”
The technology is also available for Australian based recycling facilities.
Exports in sight
With success in the Australian market, Container Deposit Systems looks forward to launching the South Australia technology to key export markets. Australia is not alone in needing better solutions to manage its waste; in fact, as a country we compare ‘average’ to the rest of the world in regards to waste management. The new Container Deposit System technology this is just one opportunity to now position South Australia and Australia as global leaders in recycling innovation.
About Container Deposit Systems
Container Deposit Systems was formed with a vision to oversee the implementation of improved operational practices in recycling facilities. The company offers a range of services to recycling depot facilities to drive productivity improvements and transition traditional recycling facilities into modern technically advanced operators.
The company achieve this through patented technologies which deliver manufacturing automation to auto-sort materials via a highly sensitive multi-sensor integration. Systems integrations enable facilities to further gain efficiencies through workflows, materials handling, logistic processes, facility layout and design, customer interaction and data acquisition and management.
Container Deposit Systems technologies are designed and manufactured in Australia with local partners Sage Automation and Macweld Engineering.
For more information, please contact us directly.
References
[i] http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-04/waste-industry-calls-for-circular-economy-and-action-plan/9618204
[ii] https://www.greenindustries.sa.gov.au/circular-economy