ORGANISERS of this year’s Plastics Recycling Show Europe have revealed that Artificial Intelligence will take centre stage at the event, which returns to RAI Amsterdam on 5-6 May.
A dedicated AI Innovation Hub will showcase AI-driven solutions in plastics recycling in an immersive experience, guiding visitors across the full value chain from feedstock and product design to collection, processing and material sourcing. Live demonstrations will include swarm-robot sorting technology from Antfarm and a phone-based AI material analysis solution from Safi.
Antfarm will highlight a its Swarm Alpha fleet of 6-10 robots that sort real-world waste streams including bottles, cans, and cartons.
Also launched at PRS Europe will be Antfarm Beta, a system designed to sort up to 10 times faster than Alpha. Antfarm Beta sees robots picking individual objects and placing them into onboard bins until full, enabling higher throughput. The demonstration will also feature Antfarm’s real-time vision system powered by advanced AI models, enabling material recognition as sorting happens. A live dashboard will provide insights into system performance, including material types sorted, picks per minute, and revenue metrics.
Sébastien Willems, co-founder & CEO, Antfarm said, “Compared to 2025, this year’s demonstration represents a major step change in both the range of materials that can be handled and the overall picking speed, underlining rapid progress in system throughput and maturity. Visitors will be amazed by how far our swarm has come.”
Declan Clancy, head of product at Safi, has outlined how visitors will be able to interact with its latest AI innovation. “You will be able to use AI on a phone to analyse a typical bale of recycled PET material. You will be able to see the AI working live and try it for yourself.”
