Kingston University London spearheads UK’s groundbreaking Waste and Recycling Robotics Hub

Kingston University Leads UK’s First Waste and Recycling Robotics Adoption Hub

Kingston University, located in London, has been chosen to spearhead the UK’s inaugural waste and recycling robotics adoption hub as part of a £40 million government initiative.

The National Waste and Recycling Robotics Adoption Hub (NORAH), supported by Innovate UK and situated in the Southeast of England, is among eight Robotic Adoption Hubs planned nationwide to offer guidance and assistance to businesses and public services seeking to implement cutting-edge technologies and transition to automation.

Under the leadership of Professor Vasilis Argyriou, a specialist in computer vision and AI at Kingston University, the NORAH project, valued at £3.6 million (£1.5 million allocated to Kingston University), aims to assist waste and recycling facilities in the UK in testing and integrating robots to enhance material recovery, reduce landfill waste, and create skilled job opportunities by expediting the adoption of automation in a challenging industrial setting.

Less than 5% of UK waste facilities have adopted automation

The low adoption rate is attributed to the difficulty robotic systems face in functioning effectively in waste environments characterized by contamination, diversity, and deformable materials. This unpredictability hinders operators from assessing performance, determining ROI, or confidently implementing systems.

The hub seeks to bridge this gap by facilitating the testing, validation, and implementation of robotic systems on genuine waste streams. Initial emphasis will be on complex materials like textiles, mixed recyclables, and soft waste, where existing systems exhibit lower reliability but offer significant gains in recovery and productivity.

Through the utilization of advanced sensing technologies, multi-arm robotic sorting cells, and digital simulations, the project will validate technologies on live contaminated waste streams, generating precise data on classification accuracy, throughput, contamination management, and material recovery. Economic modeling tailored to specific sites will provide detailed payback and investment scenarios, reducing uncertainty and expediting adoption.

Key services offered by the hub include:

• Real testbeds featuring contaminated, diverse waste streams such as textiles, mixed recyclables, and deformable materials
• Independent benchmarking using waste samples from operators to provide accurate performance data rather than vendor-derived metrics
• Support for integration within Materials Recovery Facilities and existing infrastructure, including constrained layouts and varying feedstock
• Training and workforce transition programs focused on safe operation in contaminated waste environments
• Innovation initiatives addressing sector-specific challenges like mixed fiber sorting, contamination removal, and automated disassembly
• Access to waste operators, local authorities, and commercial facilities to facilitate deployment and operational validation

The NORAH project, led by Kingston University, will involve a consortium comprising the University of Kent, the West London Waste Authority, robotic developers, waste operators, local authorities, and national bodies. This collaborative effort will combine deployment with research capabilities and policy alignment to ensure solutions meet industry requirements, regulatory standards, and are scalable for widespread adoption.

Professor Argyriou, discussing the project, outlined plans to assist over 150 organizations and achieve operational deployments by 2030. He emphasized that the National Waste and Recycling Robotics Adoption Hub aims to facilitate the transition of proven robotics from laboratories to live operations, thereby diverting valuable materials from landfills, reducing carbon emissions, creating skilled jobs, and promoting a circular economy.