Vanheede Environment Group (Vanheede) employs 810 people at 14 locations in Belgium and France. It treats around 905,000 tons of waste each year, 94.6% of which is upgraded and manages over 1,850 waste streams.

What was the problem?

By 2023, all waste recycling firms in Belgium will be legally required to collect separated waste. It will no longer be possible to mix recyclable waste and non-recyclable waste, which is a common practice today. To combat this, Vanheede wants to visually inspect any non-recyclable waste it collects. In addition, recyclable waste such as wood and electronics have an intrinsic value if they can be collected separately.

How did we solve this problem?

We created a fully automated system for visually inspecting waste that uses cameras mounted to refuse collection vehicles. When we were designing the solution, our main aim was to check whether the waste complied with the regulations. The system stores this information in Vanheerde’s database which is linked to the company’s ERP for reporting to the Public Waste Agency in Flanders, contacting customers and/or billing. The onboard computer lets Vanheerde monitor information gathered by the system and link photos to the time of collection, customer and location.

Work carried out

• Creation of the system architecture
• Construction of set-up for monitoring waste collection
• Gathered training data
• Building the AI models
• Fine-tuning the models
• Making the models operational
• Scaling up the solution

How we added value

Detail and consistency

We enabled Vanheede to publish more detailed reports for regulators (such as the Public Waste Agency).

Accuracy and improvements

We improved the accuracy of invoices sent to customers and enhanced the recycling processes further downstream.