Customer Experience

Unilever teams with Alibaba on automatic plastic recycling machine

Image courtesy of iStock.

January 4, 2021

Unilever is teaming with Alibaba on a recycling machine that uses artificial intelligence to automatically sort plastic packaging, according to a packagingnews report.

The companies have already deployed 20 machines in community spaces and offices in Shanghai and Hangzhou, China, and plan to introduce 500 in 2021.

The machines will encourage use by accepting Unilever coupons and Alipay rewards.

Customers scan a QR code on the bottle, then place it in the machine, which uses artificial intelligence to identify the type of plastic and sort it. The recycled plastic granules are collected to use in packaging future Unilever products,.