Why Recycling Fails (and How AI Can Fix It)

AI can recognise faces, cars, even emotions, but until now, it couldn’t see our waste. Philip Meissner talks with Ambarish Mitra, founder of GrayParrot, about the unexpected place AI is finally starting to change the system: recycling.Ambarish shares his journey from augmented reality to environmental AI, and explains how digitising waste unlocks a powerful new data layer for the circular economy.You’ll learn:Why the plastic crisis is actually a waste and data problemHow AI detects and sorts waste in chaotic recycling environmentsWhy most recyclable packaging never gets recycledHow real-time data is changing policy, producer responsibility, and design decisionsThis conversation shows how AI can move beyond optimisation and advertising to solve one of the world’s most overlooked challenges.Watch now to see how invisible waste is becoming actionable intelligence.Timestamps:00:00 Intro01:13 From augmented reality to recycling02:45 Why waste is the last AI frontier04:29 Waste as a design and data problem06:29 How Gray Parrot uses AI to see waste08:47 Solving AI detection in chaotic waste11:28 Insights for waste plants and brands14:29 Vision for global impact16:08 Bottlenecks in the circular economy18:59 The true scale of the waste crisis23:26 Entrepreneurial pride and purpose27:26 Leadership lessons from Blippar29:51 Curiosity vs conviction30:43 Staying grounded as a founder32:44 What makes the future optimisticConnect with Philip Meissner:linkedin.com/in/pmeissner Connect with Ambarish Mitra:linkedin.com/in/ambarishmitra#Recycling #ArtificialIntelligence #CircularEconomy #WasteManagement #Sustainability #ClimateTech #GreenTech #ComputerVision #EnvironmentalInnovation #AIForGood #PlasticWaste #WasteCrisis #SustainableFuture #TechForClimate #DataDrivenSustainability Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.