Waste sorting is the process by which waste is separated into different elements. Waste sorting can occur manually at the household and collected through curbside collection schemes, or automatically separated in materials recovery facilities or mechanical biological treatment systems. Hand sorting was the first method used in the history of waste sorting. Waste can also be sorted in a civic amenity site. Waste segregation is the division of waste into dry and wet. Dry waste includes wood and related products, metals and glass. Wet waste typically refers to organic waste usually generated by eating establishments and are heavy in weight due to dampness. With segregation, each form of waste goes into its category at the point of dumping or collection, but sorting happens after dumping or collection. Segregation of waste ensures pure, quality material. Sorting on the other hand will end up producing impure materials with less quality. These days, automatic waste segregators are gaining popularity and are already being used in many parts of the world like Australia.

Methods

Waste is collected at its source in each area and separated. The way that waste is sorted must reflect local disposal systems. The following categories are common: Organic waste can also be segregated for disposal:

Mechanisms for automated sorting

Automation of municipal solid waste sorting process is an active research area. Notable mechanisms for automated sorting include:

By country

In Germany, regulations exist that provide mandatory quotas for the waste sorting of packaging waste and recyclable materials such as glass bottles. In Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, a pilot project using an automated collecting machine of plastic bottles or aluminium cans with voucher reward has been implemented in a market. In India, the government inaugurated the Swachh Bharat Mission ("Clean India Mission") in 2014, a nationwide cleanup effort. Before this national consolidated effort for systematic and total waste management came into common consciousness, many cities and towns in India had already launched individual efforts directed at municipal waste collection of segregated waste, either based on citizen activism and/or municipal efforts to set up sustainable systems. In Ukraine, people are learning to sort garbage. Garbage is sorted in schools and kindergartens in Khmelnitsky. In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency reports that the infrastructure for recycling waste has not kept pace with the rate of waste production. In Australia, Smart Bins have been introduced as a solution for waste management issues that the country faces. The AI-powered smart bin is equipped to segregate recyclables all by itself. Experts also claim that a smart bin like this may also increase waste-recovery rates in the country and help produce better quality recyclable products that will add to Australia's GDP.

Worldwide

In terms of plastic waste sorting and recycling, an estimated 9% of the estimated 6.3 billion tonnes of plastic waste from the 1950s up to 2018 has been recycled and another 12% has been incinerated with the rest reportedly being "dumped in landfills or the natural environment".