AI, Robotics and Fire Preparedness Emerging as Key Priorities for Metal Recycling Industry

Key Highlights

· Delegates at the BIR Shredder Committee meeting in Gothenburg discussed how Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robotics are transforming metal recycling operations while highlighting the growing need for fire preparedness due to lithium-ion battery risks.

AI Driving Smarter Recycling Operations

· Raghav Mecheri stated that AI-powered material control systems will have an "immense" impact on both incoming and outgoing material streams for secondary metals processors.

· AI systems can help:

o Detect unwanted materials in incoming loads.

o Improve quality control.

o Verify composition of outgoing shipments.

o Enhance operational efficiency and safety.

Applications of AI in Metal Recycling

· AI-powered systems using cameras, X-rays, scanners, and sensors can identify:

o Lithium-ion batteries.

o Non-metallic contaminants.

o Dirt and debris.

o Oxygen and propane cylinders.

o Ferrous and non-ferrous metal content in shredder residue.

· Benefits include:

o Reduced fire risks.

o Better feedstock management.

o Improved product quality assurance.

o Increased transparency for customers and regulators.

Emerging AI Developments

· A future technology known as "zero-shot machine learning" could reduce the need for site-specific training data.

· The technology would allow AI systems to understand material streams directly, using:

o Grading guides.

o Weight estimates.

o Industry specifications.

· This could significantly reduce implementation time and costs.

Robotics Addressing Labour Shortages

· Michael McMenamin highlighted rising labour costs and recruitment challenges across the recycling sector.

· Reported annual picker costs:

o €35,000–45,000 in Europe.

o Around AU$100,000 in Australia.

· Labour shortages and employee retention are becoming major operational challenges.

Robotics in Recycling Facilities

· ZenRobotics has deployed over 100 robotic systems globally.

· Common robotic applications include:

o Removing copper contamination.

o Separating wires and waste.

o Cleaning ferrous metal streams.

o Sorting recyclable materials autonomously.

· Robotic arms can perform approximately 2,300 picks per hour and are capable of identifying more than 250 material types.

Additional Benefits of Robotics

· Robots provide:

o Consistent sorting accuracy.

o Reduced dependence on manual labour.

o Data collection for compliance reporting.

o Evidence of recycling and recovery performance.

· Systems are designed for harsh industrial environments and use widely available replacement components.

Growing Fire Risk from Lithium-Ion Batteries

· George Adams warned that fires have become an unavoidable industry challenge due to increasing volumes of lithium-ion batteries entering recycling streams.

· He stressed:

o "It is not a matter of if a fire will happen, but when."

Industry-Wide Consequences of Fires

· Fires can:

o Damage public perception of the recycling industry.

o Trigger stricter regulations.

o Increase insurance costs.

o Lead to additional compliance requirements.

· In California, regulators are reportedly considering classifying some recycling facilities as hazardous-waste operations due to recurring fire incidents.

Recommended Fire Prevention Measures

· Recycling facilities were advised to:

o Screen suppliers and incoming materials.

o Inspect and segregate loads.

o Maintain fire breaks between stockpiles.

o Conduct monthly emergency drills.

o Train regularly with local fire departments.

o Monitor water pressure and maintain emergency water supplies.

· Additional preparedness measures include:

o Water trucks kept ready for deployment.

o Crane-accessible water containers.

o Elevated water hose systems for rapid fire suppression.

Global Shredder Industry Update

· Shredder Committee Chairman Alton Scott Newell III presented the latest global shredder statistics.

· The updated World Shredder List shows:

o 326 installations in North America.

o 267 installations in EU and EFTA countries.

o 646 installations in the rest of the world.

· Total global shredders (1,000 HP and above):

o 1,239 installations, up from 1,229 last year.

Key Takeaway

· The metal recycling industry is increasingly adopting AI and robotics to improve material identification, quality control, operational efficiency, and labour productivity. At the same time, growing lithium-ion battery-related fire risks are forcing recyclers to strengthen safety protocols and emergency preparedness, making technology and risk management central themes for the industry's future development.

[ABS News Service/04.06.2026]

AI-powered systems will have an “immense” impact on the inbound and outbound materials of secondary metals processors, delegates heard at the BIR Shredder Committee meeting held in Gothenburg on June 1. The use of AI and robotics in improving day-to-day operations was discussed, along with the critical need for facilities to be prepared for the inevitability of fires.

Raghav Mecheri, CEO of Visia AI in the USA, explained how AI systems can - and already are - improving metal recycling and shredder operations, as well as helping to address the feedstock and safety challenges faced by the industry. “It is my humble opinion that low-error, AI-powered ‘material controls’- or low-error AI-powered ‘find-bad-stuff’ technology, as I like to call it - will have immense impact both on the inbound and the outbound [material flows] of secondary metals processors,” he told delegates.

Visia AI builds custom AI systems that work with different types of detection technology - such as cameras, X-rays and scanners - to enable facilities to improve their specific operations. These systems can address various ‘feedstock non-conformance’ issues faced by metal recyclers, including detecting unwanted lithium-ion batteries - the main cause of fires. Such systems also help operators understand the composition of incoming loads and prove the composition of outgoing loads.

Real-life applications of its systems include: detection of non-metallics and dirt; identification of unwanted oxygen and propane tanks; and checking the composition of ferrous or non-ferrous metal in automotive shredder residue. Some customers use cameras on conveyor belts with laser pointers that track certain materials while on the belt. This is used to train quality control staff to pick off the materials identified, reducing training time.

While facilities must budget for the time and materials needed to test its systems, Mr Mecheri added that ‘zero shot machine learning’ is coming, which means that data from specific sites are no longer needed to train a model to work. “The model itself understands your material stream,” he said. Instead, data such as grading guides and weight estimates are fed into the system to make the technology more useful.

Operators were encouraged to consider the changes they wanted to see and the operational processes they wanted to improve so solutions could be developed that would work best in their operational environment.

Michael McMenamin, UK-based Regional Sales Manager for Terex brand ZenRobotics, discussed how robotics and technology can address challenges such as labour shortages and purity requirements. “I'm hearing crazy numbers in terms of the cost now for pickers in Europe,” he said. “It’s quite common to hear anything from Euro 35,000 to Euro 45,000 a year for a picker. In Australia, I got figures at AU$ 100,000, which is around £50,000. So, the costs are ever increasing, but the other part of the problem is actually [hiring] labourers, training them and keeping them.”

ZenRobotics has been integrating AI with robotics from the early 2010s onwards and has over 100 robots working on a range of applications to date. Typical applications include the clean-up of ferrous lines where robot arms pick off unwanted material such as copper, trash and wire, making the decisions autonomously. This works by the scanner sending information to the software, which tells the robotic arm what to pick.

With robotics, material needs to be presented in a single layer, achieved by feeding material on a vibrating pan feeder, and then on to a 1.8-metre-wide belt. Each ZenRobotics heavy picker arm makes around 2300 picks per hour. The robots are pre-programmed to pick over 250 items but can also be trained and updated to pick new items and materials. A more recent development is for each robot arm to have its own sensor so that it takes a fresh look at the belt each time.

Mr McMenamin asserted that its robots are easy to maintain, used off-the-shelf parts and are designed to work in difficult environments. As well as being able to replace tough and undesirable manual picking jobs, the robots gather data useful for reporting or proof of recycling.

George Adams, CEO of SA Recycling in the USA, once again used the Shredder Committee platform to urge yards to be prepared for the inevitability of fires resulting from the prevalence of lithium batteries in materials streams. “It’s not a case of if you’re going to have a fire - you are going to have a fire,” he said.

The reason for repeatedly raising the subject, he told delegates, is because it affects everyone in the industry. “When one of us has a fire, it gives a bad name for all of us, especially today, with media and with YouTube videos and with social media,” he pointed out. One yard’s bad practices can lead to a fire that tars the entire industry and even leads to changes in the law and the imposition of new regulations, he explained. “In California, where I have three car shredders, they’re trying to change the law right now to make our businesses [classed as] hazardous waste because of fires, and to be regulated, because of fires,” he noted.

Sites need to work with suppliers to prevent undesirable materials from coming in, inspect their loads on the ground, segregate loads and shred to the ground. Fire breaks should be used if there is a lot of material, drills should be conducted once a month and businesses should train with both the weekday and weekend crews of the local fire department in order to be fully prepared.

Checking water pressure and having water readily available for deployment are also necessary. Water can be stored in containers that cranes can grab and release on to fires quickly while water trucks should be full and ready. Water hoses located on towers enable fires to be put out from above.

Also at the meeting, Shredder Committee Chairman Alton Scott Newell III of Newell Recycling Equipment in the USA revealed BIR’s latest World Shredder List - a country-by-country breakdown of shredders of 1000 HP or above. This shows 326 installations in North America, 267 in the EU and EFTA, and 646 in the rest of the world, pushing up the global total to 1239 from last year’s 1229.