Digimarc announces availability of its technology to transform plastic waste sorting and recycling

USA – Digimarc Corporation, the pioneer and global leader in digital watermarking technologies, has announced the widespread availability of Digimarc Recycle, following successful pilots and testing in multiple countries worldwide.

This groundbreaking technology represents a significant advancement in the sorting and recycling of plastic waste, poised to make a tangible impact in the fight against plastic pollution.

Now, Digimarc Recycle is readily accessible for licensing by qualified partners for less than $1 per capita per year.

Riley McCormack, President, and CEO of Digimarc, emphasized the urgency of collective action in combating plastic pollution, stating, “After another year marked by discussions but limited actions in the battle against plastic pollution, we are expanding our reach across stakeholders and geographies to urge partners in the United States and globally to join us in our mission to safeguard the planet.

“With this announcement, this proven technology is not only accessible but also affordable to a wide range of partners across the recycling ecosystem, without further delay.”

Current Challenges in Plastic Recycling

In the United States, the existing plastics recycling ecosystem is inadequate, with only 5-9% of plastics being fully recycled annually.

Consequently, the majority of plastics are disposed of as waste, leading to staggering figures: in 2021 alone, 51 million tonnes of plastic waste were generated in the U.S. A significant hurdle in plastic recycling lies in the complexity of plastic variants produced by industries and the limitations of existing optical sorting technology in recycling facilities.

Plastic packaging encompasses a diverse array of types, from food- or skin-contact-grade to industrial-use plastics, often featuring multiple materials and layers, complicating sorting processes.

Current sorting technology can only identify a portion of the materials in each item, lacking the capability to discern grade or complex composition, such as food-grade plastics.

This inability to sort based on specific criteria diminishes the value of recycled plastics and discourages producers from incorporating them into their products.

Digimarc Recycle revolutionizes plastic recycling by linking covert digital watermarks applied to plastic packaging with comprehensive product information, including packaging composition, grade, variant, brand, SKU, and more.

Unlike traditional optical sorting, digital watermarking enables precise granular sortation, facilitating the creation of high-quality recycled plastics crucial for a circular economy to thrive.

By empowering precise sortation, Digimarc Recycle enhances the feasibility of producers purchasing and repurposing higher quality recycled plastic, fostering competition with virgin materials on an equitable basis.

Digimarc’s digital watermarking technology identifies plastic packaging deterministically, down to minute details such as brand, SKU-variant, batch/lot, or serialized item—capabilities unattainable with current sorting methods or proposed next-generation technologies.

McCormack emphasized, “If we aspire to shift producers toward recyclate over virgin plastic, we must elevate the quality of plastic output from existing recycling facilities and offer a genuine pathway for closed-loop recycling. This is precisely where Digimarc excels.”

He stressed that digital watermarking presents a potent, proven, and cost-effective solution to the plastic pollution crisis, available for immediate implementation.

The offer to license this groundbreaking technology underscores Digimarc’s unwavering commitment to prompt, actionable solutions in combating plastic pollution.

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