Taichung’s FNG develops AI-powered plastic bottle recycling machine

台中世代設計股份有限公司（FNG）開發人工智慧寶特瓶回收機

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taichung-based FNG Co. has developed a plastic bottle recycling machine with an AI system that sorts bottles by color and type before processing, reducing transport emissions and speeding up the recycling workflow.

FNG founder Tsai Jin-peng (蔡僅鵬) said Taiwan has more than 1,000 bottle styles and packaging designs, which typically require manual sorting by color and type. The machine automatically recognizes each bottle and identifies its level of compression and cleanliness, helping prevent malfunctions, per CNA.

To accelerate AI integration, Tsai’s team joined training courses offered by the Taiwan Design Research Institute. He said this approach avoided miscommunication common with outsourced development and reduced operating costs.

FNG has also developed a recycling vehicle equipped with a machine that can sort, compress, remove labels, and break down bottles on board. The vehicle has toured communities, schools, and businesses nationwide since 2022 to assist with collection. For every four bottles inserted, users receive NT$1 credited to their EasyCards.

The company has been sending recycled plastic pellets to textile factories to produce fabrics. Tsai said the fabrics use environmentally friendly inks, significantly reducing resource use and pollution during manufacturing. To date, the company has helped repurpose more than 5 million bottles into fabric.

Tsai added that while about 80% of Taiwan’s plastic bottles are transparent and suitable for fabric production, the share that can be repurposed remains low because many bottles are not rinsed before disposal. Bottles stained with sauces or grease can damage recycling machinery if not filtered out.

Taiwan uses more than 4.6 billion plastic bottles annually. Although the country recycles 95% of its plastic bottles, the high volume means some still end up in incinerators or as marine debris. Local group Re-Think says plastic bottles are among the most common items found along Taiwan’s coasts.