Advancing the Circular Economy: Enhancing Black Plastic Recycling Through Sub THz Technology

This paper presents the development and application of a sub THz radar sensor designed to enhance the sorting and recycling of black plastics within the context of the Circular Economy. The sensor employs a MIMO configuration to effectively differentiate various plastic materials, including those that are typically challenging to identify, such as black plastics. Through advanced signal processing and machine learning algorithms, the sensor achieves high accuracy in classifying plastic types. The findings highlight the potential of THz technology to overcome existing challenges in recycling black plastics, contributing to more sustainable waste management practices.