CITIC takes part in a European digital transformation project with waste sorting technologies

The University of A Coruña’s Information and Communication Technologies Research Centre (CITIC), a member of the CIGUS Network, an initiative launched by the regional government (Xunta de Galicia) that groups together centres of accredited scientific excellence within the Galician university system, is taking part in a European project spearheaded by Sociedad Gallega de Medio Ambiente S.A. (SOGAMA). The project’s other partners are LIPOR – the Association of Municipalities for Sustainable Waste Management in the Grande Porto sub-region – and the University of Orilla Interior (UBI). The project addresses digital transformation using smart technologies for sorting domestic packaging waste.

The 3-year GRESINT project, endowed with ERDF funding totalling 787,544.67 euros, combines technology, sustainability and circularity with the aim of revolutionising waste management through the incorporation of smart technologies that improve packaging sorting and impact on the other phases of the value chain: collection, sorting, recycling and recovery. The project will therefore contribute to achieving European recycling targets by introducing high-quality recovered materials into the production cycle, in line with the precepts of the circular economy.

Software for optimising waste sorting

CITIC, led by researchers Carlos Vázquez Regueiro and Miguel Rodríguez Luaces, is playing a key role in the development of a pilot software. The artificial intelligence (AI) platform seeks to create a ‘Date Lake’ that stores selected and relevant data from both plants for analysis, thereby improving algorithm training and achieving better results. Data collection will include data cleaning and preparation, thereby ensuring data privacy and security. Each plant will have a server to record and process sensor data internally, sharing the information routed to the shared platform. This approach aims to improve decision making in real time, optimising sorting plant processes and maintenance.