Artificial intelligence will be one of the main themes of the Plastics Recycling Show Europe 2026 exhibition and conference, which will take place at RAI Amsterdam on 5–6 May 2026. The organisers have announced the launch of a dedicated AI Innovation Hub, where the latest AI-based solutions for the plastics recycling sector will be presented. The concept of the hub is an immersive presentation format that guides visitors along the entire value chain, from feedstock and product design, through collection and processing, to material sourcing. Among the announced demonstrations are a swarm-robot sorting technology from Antfarm and an AI-based material analysis solution running on a smartphone, developed by Safi.
Waste sorting using a swarm of robots
Antfarm will present its Swarm Alpha system at the Plastics Recycling Show Europe, a fleet of 6–10 robots designed for sorting waste from real-world streams, including bottles, cans and cartons. The demonstration is intended to illustrate the development of waste sorting technology using multiple cooperating robotic units working in parallel on a single material stream.
Antfarm Beta will also be announced at the event, described as the next generation of the solution, designed to sort up to 10 times faster compared with the Alpha system. Antfarm Beta is based on a different approach to the process, in which the robots pick individual objects and place them into onboard bins until they are full. This architecture is intended to enable a significant increase in system throughput.
The demonstration will also include a presentation of Antfarm's real-time vision system, powered by advanced AI models, which enables material identification during the sorting process. Operating data will be visualised live on a dashboard, showing, among other indicators, the types of materials recovered from the flowing stream, picks per minute and metrics related to the economic value of the process.
Sébastien Willems, co-founder and CEO of Antfarm, emphasises that compared with last year's presentation, the planned demonstration is intended to illustrate a significant technological step forward.
"Compared to 2025, this year's demonstration represents a major step change in both the range of materials that can be handled and the overall picking speed, underlining rapid progress in system throughput and maturity. Visitors will be amazed by how far our swarm has come."
The AI Innovation Hub will showcase the latest AI innovations in plastics recycling at PRSE 2026. (Photo from PRSE 2025).
Material analysis using a phone
The second announced component of the AI Innovation Hub is Safi's demonstration of an AI-based material analysis solution running on a mobile device. According to the company, visitors will be able to test the application themselves, using a typical bale of recycled PET material as an example input stream.
Declan Clancy, Head of Product at Safi, describes how participants will interact with the system.
"You will be able to use AI on a phone to analyse a typical bale of recycled PET material. You will be able to see the AI working live and try it for yourself."
The role of artificial intelligence in plastics recycling
The solutions presented within the AI Innovation Hub reflect a broader trend of using artificial intelligence in the plastics recycling sector. AI technologies are already being applied to improve material selection, optimise design for recycling and plan waste collection routes. In sorting facilities, AI-based systems increase material separation accuracy, reduce the scope of manual work and enable optimisation of plant operating parameters to reduce costs and environmental impact.
Platforms using artificial intelligence also support communication between recyclers and processors, helping to shape pricing and to make data-driven decisions. In some applications AI is combined with blockchain technologies, which makes it possible to build systems providing full traceability and transparency of material flows along the entire value chain.
Registration for Plastics Recycling Show Europe 2026
Participation in the Plastics Recycling Show Europe 2026 exhibition and conference requires prior registration via the event website. Registration is free of charge until 5 April 2026, after which the fee is 50 euros. The registration form is available at: https://www.prseventeurope.com/prse2026/en/page/visitor-registration.
