GAINnext crowned Recycling Machinery Innovation of the Year at the Plastics Recycling Awards Europe
25.06.2025TOMRA announced that TOMRA Recycling’s GAINnext™ – the AI-powered sorting system with deep learning technology – has been awarded ‘Recycling Machinery Innovation of the Year’ in the 2025 Plastic Recycling Award Europe. This prestigious award was presented at the eighth annual awards ceremony which took place during PRSE 2025 in Amsterdam in early April.
The PRSE Award is an important milestone for everyone at TOMRA Recycling
© TOMRA
Unlocking an ever-increasing uptake of recyclates
The ‘Recycling Machinery Innovation of the Year’ category celebrates machines that improve the efficiency and effectiveness of plastic recycling processes. The independent judging panel praised GAINnext™ for its significant potential to unlock an ever-increasing uptake of recyclates in new and demanding applications, including contact-sensitive ones.
The judges praised GAINnext™ for its significant potential to unlock an ever-increasing uptake of recyclates
© TOMRA
A game-changing recycling technology
Sebastian Solbach, Team Leader Application Development – Deep Learning at TOMRA Recycling, said, “This is an important milestone for everyone at TOMRA, and it reflects the hard work and dedication of our team. GAINnext™ is an innovative recycling technology capable of solving complex sorting tasks in plastics, wood, paper, aluminum, and even food versus non-food plastic packaging. I am very grateful for the hard work and passion of our R&D and deep learning teams, as well as other colleagues at TOMRA who put so much into the product.”
The entire industry sees the value of deep learning technology
GAINnext™ is a ground-breaking AI technology that solves the most complex sorting tasks and unlocks new material streams
© TOMRA
Alberto Piovesan, TOMRA Recycling’s Segment Director Plastic, Sales, added: “The independent industry jury's recognition of GAINnext™ highlights the importance of this technology. GAINnext™ uses deep learning technology to identify hard-to-classify objects. When added to traditional systems like NIR sensor technology, it increases sorting granularity, closing ever more gaps on our path towards full material circularity. Our customers benefit from increased efficiency, higher purity and the opportunity to unlock brand-new material streams.
TOMRA’s deep learning technology is built on artificial neural networks that our in-house software engineers and recycling experts have trained
© TOMRA
“With a wide and ever-growing application ecosystem, GAINnext™ offers a future-proof solution. Achieving this award highlights that not only TOMRA, but the entire industry sees the value of deep learning technology and recognizes the potential of GAINnext™. It’s a fantastic achievement for everyone involved in its development and rollout.”
The Plastics Recycling Awards Europe are organized jointly by Plastics Recyclers Europe and Crain Communications, organizers of the Plastics Recycling Show Europe.
