Top 33 Waste Sorting startups

Updated: Jan 11, 2026
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These startups develop waste sorting technologies, such as AI-driven material recognition, optical sorting systems, robotic sorting arms, near-infrared spectroscopy, magnetic separation, sensor-enabled smart bins, etc.
1
Sortera
Country: USA | Funding: $111.4M
Sortera uses AI to recover valuable aluminum from scrap piles and produce affordable, high-quality metal alloys. Sortera's computer-vision-based sensor-based sorter can both upgrade raw material streams (shredded old automotive parts and appliances) and remove unwanted contaminants. The upgraded streams can then be used to manufacture new products. This technology is revolutionary because it enables domestic (US) production of new raw materials from existing automotive industry streams. Sortera's main facility in Markle, Indiana, currently processes approximately 100 million pounds of shredded metal annually to produce blends of aluminum with other elements that make them stronger and more durable.
2
Rubicon Global
Country: USA | Funding: $501.7M
Rubicon provides affordable waste and recycling solutions for businesses seeking a smarter, sustainable alternative. Using technologies such as visual recognition and machine learning, the company conducts an initial screening of a client’s waste streams to identify types of waste and quantities, develops a waste separation system, and then tailors a waste collection schedule.
3
AMP Robotics
Country: USA | Funding: $266.1M
AMP Robotics creates robotic systems that sort recyclable material at a fraction of the cost of current technology.
4
Anaergia
Country: Canada | Funding: $126.8M
Anaergia offers comprehensive, integrated solutions for municipal solid waste management, resource recovery in the wastewater sector and waste management for large agricultural and food processing enterprises. The company develops world-leading solutions for anaerobic digestion, pyrolysis, organic matter recovery and biogas upgrading. Anaergia's anaerobic digestion technology has been implemented at over 1,000 facilities in more than 17 countries. The company provides customers with equipment or designs, finances, builds and operates complete biorefineries. The company's goal is to become the world's leading producer of renewable fuels while simultaneously reducing global carbon emissions.
5
Smarter Sorting
Country: USA | Funding: $65.1M
Smarter Sorting is a machine learning for waste. Smarter Sorting allows municipalities to take waste of extreme negative value and use our proprietary software to sort that waste into high value commodities that are sold into established markets.
6
Greyparrot
Country: UK | Funding: $30.8M
Greyparrot uses computer vision to make waste sorting more efficient at different stages of the waste chain.
7
Recycleye
Country: UK | Funding: $26M
RECYCLEYE provides image recognition tools for the waste industry.
8
TrueCircle
Country: UK | Funding: $25M
TrueCircle is a computer vision startup for the recycling industry. Its AI model ingests the footage and calculates composition by weight in real-time, to a 95%+ accuracy
9
EverestLabs
Country: USA | Funding: $21.4M
Everestlabs.AI develops an AI-based robotics technology to recover valuable recyclables.
10
Glacier
Country: USA | Funding: $20.5M
Glacier is on a groundbreaking journey to end waste – starting with recycling robotics, and with even more ambitious plans on the horizon.
11
Tribogenics
Country: USA | Funding: $19.7M
Tribogenics offers miniature x-ray solutions for applications in the recycling
12
ZenRobotics
Country: Finland | Funding: $18.5M
ZenRobotics Recycler is the world’s first robotic waste sorting system. The robots accurately separate chosen waste fractions from solid waste streams. Designed to increase the efficiency and lower the cost of waste separation, ZRR is the next generation of recycling.
13
Neos SA
Country: France
Neos specialises in the installation of waste sorting and management centres for wastes from household, current industrial and building and construction sites. The company sets up turnkey installations, further to local authorities or private companies’ call for tenders.
14
Waste Robotics
Country: Canada | Funding: $9.8M
Waste Robotics designs and delivers intelligent recycling robots to replace human pickers in recycling centres.
15
PELLENC Selective Technologies
Country: France | Funding: €6.3M
Pellenc ST develops optical sorting machines for household and industrial wastes. The technologies used to sort these materials are near infrared (NIR), middle infrared, vision & induction technologies. Thanks to Pellenc ST, sorting solutions are highly valuable in the recycling industries. The company is actively developing new sorting solutions for the single stream recycling. Renowned references in more than 40 countries all around the world have installed Pellenc ST machines.
16
Metaspectral
Country: Canada | Funding: $5.3M
Metaspectral has created technology using hyperspectral cameras and artificial intelligence (AI) to rapidly identify and sort plastics for recycling. While distinguishing between many plastics is essentially impossible with a regular camera that sees only red, blue and green, a hyperspectral camera can capture up to 300 frequencies of light.
17
TrashCon Labs
Country: India | Funding: $5M
TrashCon Labs provides complete end-to-end technology that sorts the waste and recycles it, thus providing a comprehensive solution to convert every bit of waste to value.
18
Bin-e
Country: Poland | Funding: $2.3M
BIN-e is a smart building solution company that provides smart waste bin for office and public spaces. It uses a set of sensors to identify the type of waste that is being disposed of, segregates the waste, compresses it, and places it in the relevant chamber. The integrated computer gathers data about every item that is disposed of.
19
Sorted
Country: UK | Funding: £1.7M
AI-powered solutions to sort recyclable materials
20
Ishitva Robotic Systems
Country: India | Funding: $1M
Ishitva offers AI solutions to effectively identify and sort dry waste to ensure that most recyclable waste is put to use as a repurposed product.
21
Prairie Robotics
Country: Canada | Funding: CA$690K
Prairie Robotics is developing artificial intelligence that can sort the types of waste entering landfills and estimate its approximate weight through imaging.
22
Ganiga
Country: Italy | Funding: €375K
The startup developing software and AI-powered robots sas to revolutionize waste management.
23
REP-TEC
Country: UK | Funding: £300K
REP-TEC Automated Recycling solutions mission is to improve global recycling efficiency. The startup’s products include a robotic system that uses computer vision to separate materials such as glass and metal from waste. It also makes automatic balers and conveyor systems.
24
Lasso Loop Recycling
Country: USA | Funding: $150K
Lasso Loop Recycling develops the home recycling solution that collects, cleans and sorts garbage for recycling.
25
PolyPerception
Country: Belgium | Funding: $101K
PolyPerception provides real-time end-to-end waste flow monitoring to plastics and material recovery facilities. It uses cameras and Artificial Intelligence to track and characterise every single object that flows through material recovery facilities.
26
rStream Recycling
Country: USA | Funding: $100K
rStream Recycling pushes the limits of high-tech sustainability by leveraging recent advances in machine vision and novel hardware to automate waste sorting
27
rStream
Country: USA | Funding: $100K
rStream Recycling is a waste automation company that provides robotics solutions for recycling and composting processes.
28
MyMatR
Country: USA | Funding: $10K
MyMatR has developed an IoT smart waste container, equipped with artificial intelligence, automatic sorting, reduction technology, and waste stream data analytics.
29
WasteAnt
Country: Germany
WasteAnt's computer vision system records and evaluates the waste quality. It checks the waste stream for interfering materials and thus brings more transparency into the system, while increasing the recycling rate
30
OAK Eco Technologies
Country: Russia
OAK create automatic waste sorting, recycling and 3D printing devices
31
WeSort.AI
Country: Germany
WeSort.AI is a DeepTech startup specializing in AI-powered waste analysis and sorting. Our technology increases material purity, enhances automation, and improves recycling efficiency – bringing us closer to a 100% circular economy.
32
Bollegraaf
Country: Netherlands
Bollegraaf Recycling Solutions is a manufacturer of recycling equipment and machines.
33
Aetech
Country: South Korea
AETECH is a company that develops waste sorting AI robots ‘Atron’ and ‘RMRF (Robot Material Recovery Facility)’ to realize a smart city where robots sort waste.
  See also:
Marjana Bačić
Editor: Marjana Bačić
Marjana Bačić is a senior editor for RecyclingStartups. She has has more than 5 years experience covering the recycling industry. Marjana graduated from University of Belgrade, where she edited Recycling and Sustainable Development Journal. She has helped several non-profit organizations dedicated to promoting environmental education and sustainability. She also participates in beach clean-up initiatives and advocates for sustainable practices in local businesses. In her free time, Marjana enjoys hiking in the scenic Montenegrin countryside, practicing yoga for mindfulness, and experimenting with plant-based recipes in her kitchen. You can contact Marjana at marjanabacic(at)recyclingstartups(dot)com