SuperBin, a Korean startup reshaping the waste recycling ecosystem using technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, on Thursday said it recently completed construction of its so-called I Am Factory in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, to produce recycled polyethylene terephthalate (r-PET) flakes.
Data will be given on the quality and specifications of the processed waste products from this high-tech facility.
The eco-friendly plant minimizes carbon emissions and wastewater through a physical recycling process as the first in Korea to apply artificial intelligence (AI) technology to a materials processing facility, SuperBin said. Data collected through digital technologies will be used to track resource circulation.
Over the past several years, the company has installed nationwide its Nephron system, or a nationwide network of automated machines for collecting discarded PET bottles and aluminum cans to secure highly pure recycled raw materials and set the basis for stable and mass production of recycled processed products.
With the adoption of regulations on the use of recycled plastics at designated rates, demand for r-PET is surging. SuperBin said it will lay the groundwork for developing a circular economy ecosystem by securing markets with domestic petrochemical and general trading companies.
"I'm happy with the completion of I Am Factory, the final button in the circular economy chain, to prove it to the world," said SuperBin founder and CEO Kim Jeungbin.
"This extremely timely milestone means that Superbin has finished all the needed value chains for resource circulation and integrated Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies to all values for innovating the waste market," he added.
SuperBin said it seeks to export recycling systems based on robotics and AI technologies. For example, the company installed Nephron machines on every floor of domestic web portal giant Naver's headquarters 1784 in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, and adopted waste management technology there.
Because Naver is mulling the export of 1784 management technology to the super city of Neom, Saudi Arabia, sector pundits forecast the potential for SuperBin to sell abroad its know-how in resource management technology for building interiors.
