A report by the World Bank has highlighted a growing problem created by urban residents around the world. In this study, the organization estimates the amount of solid waste generated by 2025 will be 2.2 billion tons per year, almost double the 1.3 billion tons generated in 2012. Recycling is one of the best solutions to reduce the increasing amount of waste we create every day. ZenRobotics has created a recycling robot that removes recyclable construction material from a conveyor belt and places them in bins.
Because home construction, remodeling and demolition projects account for 25 to 30 percent of the annual municipal solid waste in the United States alone, recycling these items can remove almost one-third of total solid waste from dump sites.
The ZenRobotic Recycler (ZRR) is primarily designed to do away with manual sorting of construction and demolition items. Separating these items manually is dangerous and sometimes too expensive to justify recycling the items for businesses providing this service. 
The ZRR identifies different types of waste using multiple sensors including visible spectrum cameras, near infrared (NIR), 3D laser scanners, haptic sensors, tactile assessment and spectrometer analysis, weight measurement and more. The company calls this technology the Fusion System, and it uses all these sensors to create an accurate real-time analysis of the items that are being processed. Based on the results, it makes decisions on the objects that can be recycled.
The company has two models that can be installed as a standalone model or a retrofit installation. The ZRR Heavy Picker (ZRR HP) can pick items that weigh up to 20 kg or 44 pounds to speed up excavator sorting. Performing this type of recycling manually is extremely labor-intensive, dangerous and expensive. The ZRR HP can perform this task 24 hours a day without endangering a person.
The ZRR Fast Picker (ZZR FP) is designed to go through many small objects quickly picking objects that weigh up to 5 kg or 11 pounds. The company claims this unit can relieve 15 human waste sorters.
Whether it is installed as a standalone unit or part of an existing process this robotic technology can give recycling plants the ability to run multiple-shifts or 24/7 operations to process more waste.
