Cities across China are increasingly using artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance garbage sorting, transforming waste into valuable recyclable materials.
In south China's Guangzhou City, a waste compression station has introduced AI-powered sorting machine equipped with hyperspectral imaging technology. The system scans every piece of plastic and precisely classifies materials that are difficult for the human eye to distinguish, automatically putting them into different categories.
"The machine can accurately separate materials that were previously indistinguishable to the human eye, such as PP (polypropylene), PVC (polyvinyl chloride), and HDPE (high-density polyethylene). It can also separate waste plastic films according to their different materials," said He Tingxuan, head of AI sorting technology at Xinke Waste Compression Station.
Since its pilot implementation, the AI-powered sorting machine has processed 26,000 tons of raw waste, separating more than 10,000 tons of recyclables and saving 1.7276 million yuan (about 254,500 U.S. dollars) in garbage processing fees.
In east China's Xiamen City, a garbage sorting center has also adopted AI technology to efficiently recycle low-value recyclables such as fast food boxes, express delivery packaging bags, and milk cartons. The center can process up to 50 tons of such materials daily.
"We use visual recognition and infrared scanning technologies to automatically identify and decompose low-value recyclables, including waste plastics and wastepaper. We can produce 16 different types of recyclable products, with a sorting accuracy rate of over 95 percent," said Nian Minmo, general manager of Xiamen Haicang Investment Group Municipal Company.
China aims to raise its urban household waste recycling utilization rate to above 76 percent by the end of 2030, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development said Monday.
The announcement came as the country launched its fourth national urban household waste sorting publicity week, running from May 25 to 31.
AI technology empowers garbage sorting process
As the diplomatic engagement between the United States and Iran continues despite a faltering ceasefire, a former commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has said that Iran is prepared to use military power to break the U.S. maritime blockade should the negotiations collapse or run on too long.
Mohsen Rezaee, who also currently serves as a member of the Iranian Expediency Discernment Council, struck a confident tone about Iran's current trajectory in an exclusive interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) in Tehran on Wednesday.
He said the country has withstood over two decades of crippling sanctions and continued to move forward.
"We have been under sanctions for more than 20 years. The number of sanctions likely exceeds 2,000, targeting individuals, enterprises, corporations, ships, insurance companies, and even foreign countries that interacted with us. However, we have managed to find solutions to neutralize these sanctions, and we will continue to do so moving forward," he said.
He said Iran aims to ease the sanctions burden through talks with the U.S., although at the same time, he said, Iran is ready to shift to a military response if the path to a peaceful resolution closes.
"Furthermore, we will compel the U.S. to lift these sanctions. We will force the U.S. to end the maritime blockade -- either through negotiations or, should they resist, through direct action and we will attack U.S. warships. Therefore, despite all the pressures, the future of our economy is bright and promising, while the future of the US economy is bleak," he said.
While any new war against Iran would be a dead end, the best way out for the U.S. is to continue talks, according to the senior official.
"We have prepared ourselves so that if the maritime blockade continues beyond a certain timeframe, we will launch an attack and break the blockade. The Americans have no choice but to negotiate. Continuing this war is a journey into a very dark tunnel for the United States. The more America chooses to fight, the deeper it enters a tunnel with no end. Yet for us, the path is perfectly clear. America is moving toward us in the dark, while we are monitoring their every move," he said.
Former IRGC chief says Iran ready to break U.S. naval blockade by force if talks fail
