Reducing global emissions through AI-powered recycling: Pi Labs’ investment in Sorted
April 29, 2024 | Michelle Wilk
We are pleased to announce our investment in Sorted, a London-based computer vision, AI and spectroscopy start-up disrupting the recycling industry. Pi Labs led the £1.65 million Seed round, joined by our friends at Archipelago Ventures, Circular Plastics Accelerator, Conduit Connect, Antler and Angels.
Background to the investment
At Pi Labs, we back founders creating a digital and sustainable built world. Sorting household and commercial waste is a key component in creating cleaner, more liveable environments for future generations.
Material Recycling Facilities (‘MRFs’) are faced with sorting 4.2million tonnes of material a year in the UK alone, across plastics, metal, paper and glass. Technology that improves the accuracy and efficiency of sorting waste not only stands to hugely benefit the environment (better sorting = less waste sent to landfill), but also results in large commercial benefits for recycling facilities (extra revenue and fewer penalties, depending on the geography). The price of recycled HDPE (one of the most valuable types of plastic), for example, can reach up to c.£1k per tonne.
Our research identified two critical blockers for Material Recycling Facilities (MRFs):
1. Complicated and expensive fitouts: existing solutions often involve redesigning plants, creating friction in the sales process.
2. Difficulty proving ROI: existing solutions often involve a substantial upfront cost, creating ROI uncertainty, a key metric for all purchasing decisions.
In June 2023, we met the founders of Sorted, Luis and Arthur, who were applying Arthur’s in-house experience at SUEZ as Head of Digital to come up with an innovative solution to these problems, having explored the market from a customer standpoint.
Since then, we have seen Sorted deployed within waste management and recycling firms in the UK and France, including SUEZ and Cawleys. Early customer case studies show Sorted improving residual waste recovery by >50%, leading to less incineration.
About Sorted
Sorted is a recycling start-up used by Material Recycling Facilities (MRFs) to improve residual waste recovery. The initial product uses computer vision, spectroscopy and coloured lasers, driven by AI, to identify and point human pickers to the most valuable items on recycling lines, via a small box installed above the recycling belt. This allows for increased picks-per-minute, reduced training time for new team members and increased recovered value. Data is collected and presented back to clients via Sorted’s live dashboard. This creates a digitised and easy-to-implement solution to a very physical problem.
Why we invested
Founding team:
Luis (CEO) and Arthur (CTO) bring complementary skill sets to the table. Arthur — with his deep industry experience from 15 years’ in waste management and tech; from CPO of a Singaporian WasteTech start-up, to Head of Digital at SUEZ. Luis — from his scale-up experience, having led Ops Teams across multiple unicorns: Uber, Rappi and DiDi.
Customer pain point:
From our reference calls, it became clear that Material Recycling Facilities were looking for solutions that deliver value from the start, without having to redesign plants — a costly and time-consuming process. Many also need to continue providing job opportunities under their social governance (ESG) frameworks, yet struggle with the inefficiencies of repeatedly training staff in a high-attrition work environment. This creates a clear need for a hybrid humans + technology solution on day one, that supports and augments the existing workforce, opening up a larger land-and-expand opportunity for Sorted.
Macro Drivers:
Several macro drivers are accelerating the need to better sort waste — such as the UK Emissions Trading Scheme and commitment from FMCG brands to cut plastic packaging by 2025, incorporating recycled materials as alternatives. The UK and EU have also implemented virgin plastic packaging taxes. In the UK, this means that plastic packaging with ❤0% recycled plastic (manufactured or imported into the UK) is taxed at £210 per tonne and is estimated to impact 20,000 businesses.
Source: ‘Closing the Plastics Circularity Gap: Full Report’ by Google x AFARA
Market size:
The complexity of sorting recycled materials, such as plastic, compounds in a missed $133 billion opportunity. With global annual waste generation predicted to increase by 70% between 2018 and 2050, solutions are urgently needed. A single waste management company can operate up to 800 MRFs globally, creating large ACV opportunities for Sorted.
What’s next?
The recent funding round enables Sorted to expand their sales and technical teams, accelerating their go-to-market strategy. We are thrilled to embark on this journey with Sorted, supporting their mission to drive positive change and reduce the carbon footprint of the waste industry.
