LUXEMBOURG, May 25, 2022 – Archipelago Eco Investors, member of the ICFA 2019-2 Fall Cohort, announces its first investment in Greyparrot, a cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence (AI) Waste Recognition System and Analytics Platform which will enable better sorting of plastics and other waste streams. Read more at www.aei.finance.
Archipelago Eco Investors (AEI), together with its partner WRAP, a climate action NGO, announced today a first key investment in Greyparrot AI, a cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence (AI) Waste Recognition System and Analytics Platform which will enable better sorting of plastics and other waste streams.
AEI’s support will enable Greyparrot to grow and expand across the waste management sector, and into new waste streams – including some from the world’s heaviest polluting industries. The Greyparrot AI-powered computer vision system has already analysed over ten billion packaging items in sorting plants to increase recycling rates and introduce accountability to the waste value chain.
AEI will continue to support SMEs to develop upstream innovation in novel materials, in material efficiency, in delivery and re-use models and in design for end of life. It will also support downstream solutions targeting increased collection, sorting, cleaning and recycling of plastics with particular interest in hard to recycle materials such as laminates, films and textiles, and microplastics in industry and agriculture which have significant impact on human and ocean health.
Claire Shrewsbury, Director of Insights and Innovation at WRAP said “There is an urgent need to support new infrastructure and increase plastic recycling. Currently many of the technologies capable of addressing barriers in the plastic supply chains are still at a relatively early stage of development and need financial support to develop and come on stream. If we are to see an increase in recycling rates globally, and a reduction in plastic waste in the environment, then we need to support these innovative new technologies.
“The funding required for new technologies to achieve scale is lacking and investment into the plastics economy is essential to enable brands and members of the UK Plastics Pact to meet our ambitious targets.”
Lucy Mortimer, Partner at Archipelago Eco Investors said, “Much of the plastic that enters our economy never gets recycled. Problematic packaging formats and ineffective sorting means much can end up in landfill rather than finding value in the Circular Economy. Supporting Greyparrot will enable more Material Recovery Facilities here in the UK, in Europe and across the US to achieve a higher degree of sorting and a greater proportion of plastic being recycled. And crucially, Greyparrot will produce data which can change the way plastic waste is valued. We are delighted to be able to support Greyparrot.”
Greyparrot uses cutting-edge AI vision technology to monitor, analyze and sort large volumes of waste at scale. Its innovative technology can be easily integrated into existing waste facilities across the UK and Europe and enable waste handlers to increase recycling rates through integration with sorting hardware and robotics, allowing more waste to be sorted and to a better standard to generate higher quality feedstock for recycling.
The approach will also provide valuable data for brands and retailers relevant to their potential Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) obligations in the UK, and worldwide, introducing a previously impossible degree of accountability into the waste value chain.
Notes to Editors
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WRAP is a climate action NGO working around the globe to tackle the causes of the climate crisis and give the planet a sustainable future. Our vision is a thriving world in which climate change is no longer a problem. We believe that our natural resources should not be wasted and that everything we use should be re-used and recycled. We bring together and work with governments, businesses and individuals to ensure that the world’s natural resources are used more sustainably. Our core purpose is to help tackle climate change and protect our planet by changing the way things are produced, consumed and disposed of.
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Archipelago Eco Investors is a new impact investment fund advisor supporting technologies developing IP-led solutions which can avoid plastic entering the economy or bring it back into the circular economy at the end of its useful life. Plastics and climate are closely linked, as fossil fuels form the primary feedstock for plastic production. AEI is bringing impact-aligned pratners together to help unlock solutions which can change the way plastic is produced and recycled and be successfully deployed at scale with commercial and strategic partners in developed markets and emerging economies. AEI is led by a team of experienced climate finance and plastics specialists.
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Greyparrot is the leading AI waste analytics platform for the circular economy on a mission to increase transparency and automation in waste management and unlock the financial value of waste. Greyparrot uses cutting edge AI computer vision systems, deployed globally in sorting facilities to monitor, analyse, and sort large waste flows at scale. Greyparrot provides waste analytics and new insights to waste managers, producers and regulators to increase recycling rates and introduce accountability to the waste value chain. Founded in 2019, the company is already working with leaders in waste management including Suez, Veolia and Biffa. Greyparrot is now recognised as one of “Europe’s 100 Hottest Startups” by WIRED in 2021 as well as a Top 100 most promising AI company globally by CB Insights. The company’s vision is to ultimately create a world where every piece of waste is valued as a resource.
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WRAP experts are available for broadcast interviews, briefings and comment – contact: Ian Palmer Media Relations Manager ian.palmer@wrap.org.uk 07802 873 431 www.wrap.org.uk
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Archipelago Eco Investors are available for interviews and comment – contact: Lucy Mortimer, Partner lucy.mortimer@aei.finance 07972 129694 www.aei.finance
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For more information, contact:
Lucy Mortimer lucy.mortimer@aei.finance
Justin Guest justin.guest@aei.finance
www.icfa.lu | https://www.linkedin.com/company/aei-finance/ | www.aei.finance
