Page 52 - Plastics News May 2026

INTERNATIONAL NEWS
We commend the strong engagement of EU
Member States in the renewed CPA framework.
While preserving and reinforcing the integrity of
the EU Single Market remains essential, national
governments also have a critical role to play in
providing effective incentives and ensuring that
circularity is delivered in practice across Europe.
TOMRA EXPANDS AMERICAS TEST CAPACITY
omra Recycling has opened its Americas
Test & Training Center in Charlotte, North
TCarolina, expanding testing, training and
after-sales support for recyclers across the re-
gion. The new facility combines a test circuit with
current sorting technologies, training space and
warehouse capacity for critical spare parts.
Expanded support for the Americas
With the new center, Tomra is strengthening
customer support at its Americas headquar-
ters. The site is designed to support recyclers
through equipment testing, application develop-
ment, operator and maintenance training, and
service-related activities across the machinery
54 PLASTICS NEWS
The Circular Plastics Alliance must now move
from ambition to delivery, and fast. As a united
plastics value chain, we are committed to turning
this renewed momentum into concrete results
and ensuring Europe remains at the forefront of
circular plastics.
Source – Plastics Europe
lifecycle. The additional warehouse space is also
intended to improve parts availability and reduce
response times for customers in the region.
Sorting technologies for waste and plastics
The 425 sq m facility is equipped to test both
waste and plastic materials using Tomra’s latest
sensor-based sorting systems. Its test circuit in-
cludes the latest generation of Autosort with the
company’s GAINnext deep learning technology.
Autosort is designed for a range of applications
including municipal solid waste, paper, plastics
and packaging. Through a flexible sensor con-
figuration, the system can be adapted to differ-
ent material streams and market requirements.
GAINnext adds AI-based visual classification for
objects that are difficult to identify with conven-
tional sorting methods, supporting higher recov-
ery rates and improved output purity.
For plastic flake applications, the center also in-
cludes Autosort Flake and Innosort Flake. Inno-
sort Flake combines near-infrared spectroscopy
with dual-sided, high-resolution camera imag-
ing to detect both polymer types and colors in
mixed, contaminated flake streams. Autosort
Flake combines an NIR spectrometer, full-color
May 2026