Hey, it’s Dan

In Today’s Issue:

• I found out Japan and the Netherlands are using AI robots to sort plastic

• Spoiler: It’s more accurate than most human efforts

• Meanwhile in the U.S., we still think if it “feels” recyclable, it probably is

• Plus: a Skynet cameo and one very confident yogurt cup

🌎 Our Mission

Eco Hustle is about getting paid to save the planet—one plastic project at a time.

Sometimes that means looping Target bags into scrubbers.
Other times? It means watching robots crush our recycling game — and wondering when the humans will catch up.

This Week’s Plastic Problem

Most people don’t know what actually happens after they toss something in the blue bin.

Spoiler: neither do the people sorting it.

In a lot of U.S. facilities, recycling still involves:

• Conveyor belts

• Gloved hands

• Manual judgment calls made by people who are underpaid and overwhelmed
  

Compare that to Japan and the Netherlands, where AI-driven machines:

• Visually scan plastic using computer vision

• Sort by type and quality using robotics

• Hit >90% accuracy in identifying what’s recyclable and what’s trash

🛠 This Week’s Hustle: Robot Recycling That Works

I went down the rabbit hole and found actual footage of these machines in action.

They use:

• Infrared sensors to detect resin codes

• AI vision to distinguish labels, brands, even contamination

• Grippers and vacuums to sort plastics in milliseconds

  

  It’s like Skynet… but instead of launching nukes, it just knows the difference between HDPE and polypropylene.

In places like Kamikatsu, Japan, they’ve reduced landfill waste to near-zero.

In the Netherlands, plastic waste is scanned, sorted, and sold like clean data.

In the U.S.? We’re still tossing plastic in blue bins and praying to the recycling gods.

Somewhere in a Dutch warehouse, a robot just sorted 500 plastic lids with 99.8% accuracy.
Meanwhile, I’ve Googled “can I recycle this?” four times this week and still got it wrong.

💡 Pro Tip From a Curious American

If you’ve ever asked:

“Can I recycle this?”
The answer is probably:
“Not here, but maybe in the Netherlands.”

Recycling works—when the system actually supports it.
Most of the U.S. isn’t there yet.
But the tech already exists. The playbook is written. We're just not running it.

One Last Tangle

I’m not saying robots will save the planet.

But if Japan has a trash bot that can sort five types of plastic faster than I can find the recycling symbol, then yeah—maybe it’s time we borrowed a few playbooks.

Because hope is cool. But infrastructure is better.

P.S. I Read Every Reply

If you’ve ever stood in front of a bin and hesitated with a yogurt cup, this one’s for you.

I’m not trying to make you feel bad.
I’m trying to figure out who’s doing it right—and how we steal the good parts.

Hit reply if you’ve seen these systems in action. Or just want to yell about how broken things are.