In Germany, they find treasure in waste

A small part of the vast network of conveyor belts transporting trash past infrared scanners for sorting. Human staff will then pick through the remaining waste for any more recyclable material. — Photos: SIM LEOI LEOI/The Star

IT’S after 11am on a Monday morning and yellow-gloved, apron-clad workers are filing into the “picking lines” at Interzero, one of Berlin’s waste management companies.

They have the tedious job of picking through tonnes of waste – 140,000 tonnes annually – after the company’s advanced infrared system has taken a first pass, looking for items like tin foil and black waste materials.