When China restricted the importation of recyclable waste products in 2018, many western companies turned to robotic technologies to strengthen their processing capabilities. "The ban exposed how vulnerable the current infrastructure for recycling is," says Chris Wirth, vice-president of marketing and business development for AMP Robotics, a Denver-based industrial recycling artificial intelligence company. To recycle in a cost-effective, comprehensive and safe way, goods must be broken down into their constituent commodities to be sold on, in a process that has been likened to "unscrambling an egg". Roboticists think that computer vision, neural networks and modular robotics can enable a more intelligent, flexible approach to recycling. AI-enabled robotics can identify items based on visual cues such as logos, colour, shape and texture, sorting them and taking them apart.