Waste Robotics is proud to announce Mr. Nicolas Bélanger recently joined its team as President, Sales VP and Acting Chief Executive Officer. His solid experience in the waste recycling industry and in the sorting centers is a great asset to help Waste Robotics accelerate its good momentum. The company will be able to carry out even more innovative projects to meet the current challenges of the industry and consolidate its position in the industry of robotized waste sorting.
For the occasion, here is a short interview with Waste Robotics to paint a picture of the vision of the company and the industry.
Why did you choose the intelligent robotic waste sorting industry?
Several fundamental reasons motivate us.
THE NEEDS OF THE WASTE RECYCLING INDUSTRY
In North America, we produce more than 800 million tonnes of waste annually. Approximately 65% of recyclable and compostable waste disposal materials could have been recycled! The more we have to sort waste deep into the waste bin, the more difficult and less inviting this sort is for the current workforce. The waste recycling industry needs tangible and profitable solutions. Waste Robotics’ intelligent waste sorting robots will be able to solve much of this problem that concerns us all.
THE COLOSSAL MARKET
Recoverable materials – organics, construction and demolition waste and recyclables – have a net worth of billions of dollars a year. This amount excludes legal constraints and tariff measures. In North America, there are more than 1,800 sorting centers needing the installation of a more efficient and reliable system, such as our robotic waste sorting technology.
EXPERTISE AND CONVERGENT TECHNOLOGIES
Robots are part of our everyday life and they are becoming more accessible and high-quality. It is the same for cameras and sensors, even if they are already belonging to the older generation, namely partially automated sorting. We now have access to high quality tools at reasonable costs. The latest advances in the computing capacity of computer systems have in recent years made it possible to integrate artificial intelligence into a host of applications. Waste Robotics has chosen to use this promising capacity as a solution in the field of waste sorting. Finally, we managed to create a very solid and competent team thanks to the different but perfectly complementary expertise of the founders of Waste Robotics. We decided to take advantage of this convergence and offer world-class systems to the market.
What is your vision of the waste recycling industry? What issues do you think will be the most important in this industry in the coming years?
We want to move the industry forward – even revolutionize it. It must resolutely change its approach and, as of now, employ automated and more efficient equipment. Waste Robotics’ vision is to help the industry to get through a process of improvement that will incorporate the best robot technologies. Our intelligent robotic sorting systems are capable of performing and adapting daily to market requirements and are part of this approach.
LABOR SHORTAGES
The traditional business model, which promised a plentiful supply of cheap labor, is no longer viable. The labor shortages is a hard reality in the industry. The sorting of municipal solid waste manually, previously associated with recycling, offers increasingly difficult conditions and is a job very little rewarding. Even with pay beyond the minimum wage, it is not possible to fill the positions. This situation automatically leads to a loss of productivity and quality.
NECESSITY OF QUALITY
The crisis caused by the closure of the Chinese market due to the poor quality of recycled materials has highlighted the importance of this factor. Quality is the added value. This crisis illustrates very well the need to produce quality recycled materials to consolidate profitable activities. One of the features of Waste Robotics’ intelligent robotic waste sorting system is its ability to learn and continually improve its business. This ability enables it to produce quality materials with better added value. Robots can do more and better with fewer resources.
THE CYCLE OF AGING AS AN OPPORTUNITY
At the turn of the century, many programs were set up to meet the need for waste recovery. The facilities built at the time are near the end-of-life. Waste Robotics believes this is another opportunity to revise the established model and move the sorting centers to a new level of production. The time has come: the availability of technologies that make systems more efficient and flexible is very real. Systems for intelligent robotic sorting are there.
REGULATORY AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSTRAINTS
Laws, stringent regulations, necessity and international obligations (eg COPs) all point us to increasingly binding responsibilities. Pressure from citizens and measures taken by the States lead us to a compulsory passage. We will have to do a lot better to sort our municipal solid waste. Intelligent robotic waste sorting systems will play a key role in this change.
The robotization will be done, without a doubt. The question is: when? At Waste Robotics, we are convinced that the time is now. For now, we offer breakthrough technology. Subsequently, however, the transition will become excessively fast. Centers that do not adopt an intelligent robotic waste sorting system will be significantly behind schedule in a virtually insurmountable way.
How do Waste Robotics’ waste sorting robots help develop solutions to these challenges?
Waste Robotics focuses on systems that offer a unique value proposition. Profitability is the leitmotif of our innovations.
FLEXIBILITY AND ADAPTABILITY OF WASTE DISPOSAL ROBOTS
Our intelligent robotic waste sorting systems are characterized by their ability to become more and more competent. Through networking, they learn from each other’s experiences. The systems can be constantly updated and they can be given a variety of tasks that become more and more sophisticated.
INFINITE APPLICATIONS
Some applications of waste sorting robots open previously non-existent opportunities. Take, for example, our first system, which offers the extraction of color bags from a single waste stream. Instead of multiplying the number of collection bins needed, this robot allows the simultaneous collection of several of them. Thus, this technology does not require the purchase and deployment of new bins or the setting up of additional collections. This is a new approach to avoid GHG emissions and waste of millions of dollars.
The number of possible applications of intelligent waste sorting robots has virtually no limit. They will be able to provide solutions to the problems that will arise.
ROBOTS ARE TIRELESS
Robotic lines can operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Productivity is high and remains constant. The problems of absenteeism are largely a thing of the past. Health and safety issues for workers are significantly reduced. We believe that our intelligent robots for waste sorting are breakthrough technologies, also called disruptive. We can not go back. The waste sorting sector is at the center of a real revolution that will change the way things are done for good.
How does your vision relate to Waste Robotics’?
As co-founder of Waste Robotics, I found it important to align the values and vision of the company with mine. Moreover, my partners all share this same vision, which is exciting and contributes to our pleasure to work tirelessly to grow our company.
What achievements do you want to accomplish at Waste Robotics?
All areas of waste recycling are interesting to us. We believe we can effectively address a wide range of industry needs and challenges. Our goal is to make Waste Robotics a reliable and inexhaustible source of solutions for waste sorting and recovery. For these reasons, we want to be present in all sorting centers with our advanced systems and help make them more efficient and profitable.
About
Nicolas Bélanger
Nicolas BélangerEng.President and Sales VP (Acting CEO)
Nicolas has over 20 years of experience designing and selling equipment for sorting centers in North America. Nicolas is aware of the needs of the recycling industry.
To learn more about the vision of Waste Robotics and their team, check out this page on our website.
