# Tech for good: How a Chinese startup reinvented recycling

- Link: https://www.thailand-business-news.com/pr-news/tech-for-good-how-a-chinese-startup-reinvented-recycling
- Published: 2026-07-16T20:00:00+07:00
- Author: PR Newswire

BEIJING, July 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — A news report from China.org.cn on a Chinese
startup reinvented recycling:

 
Tech for good: How a Chinese startup reinvented recycling

While the world’s AI giants battle for faster chips and greater computing power,
a Chinese startup dedicated to smarter waste sorting quietly secured a spot on Time
magazine’s Best Inventions of 2025 list. It was the only Chinese company featured
in the "Reuse & Recycle" category.

The company, DataBeyond, is redefining the true meaning of "tech for good" by choosing
a path that is both difficult and worthwhile.

The story begins in a decidedly unglamorous setting. In 2018, Mo Zhuoya, a mechatronics
engineering graduate from Harbin Institute of Technology, stepped into a recycling
center. She was met with mountains of discarded clothing and the sharp, sour stench
of decay. Dozens of workers were picking through the jumbled piles by hand. Because
complex blended fabrics rendered traditional sorting machines completely blind, 
the entire operation had to rely on human eyes and hands.

It was there that Mo made a decision: She would apply her years of expertise in 
robotics and smart manufacturing to waste sorting.

But bringing laboratory algorithms into the messy reality of a waste depot was no
small feat. The first robot they built had a mere 70% accuracy rate. Undeterred,
Mo and her team dug in. By day, they crouched beside smelly conveyor belts, manually
sifting through garments alongside the workers. By night, they fed their AI system
image after image. Realizing that textile sorting requires identifying the material
itself rather than just its external appearance, the team chose to combine hyperspectral
imaging with AI algorithms, eventually developing a state-of-the-art optical fabric
sorter. This machine takes just 0.03 seconds to identify complex blends. Once identified,
high-pressure air jets act like a surgeon’s scalpel, precisely blowing the target
materials off a high-speed belt into their designated bins.

The results were transformative. It used to take 30 workers to sort about 2 metric
tons of used clothing every hour. Now, a single machine can handle more than 2 metric
tons an hour, with an accuracy rate as high as 98%. Waste sorting has finally achieved
true industrial standardization.

This AI-powered waste-sorting technology hasn’t just scaled domestically in China;
it has also been exported to more than 40 countries and regions, including Japan
and Italy. It is helping communities worldwide tackle the dirtiest, most grueling
and most hazardous waste processing tasks.

Amid geopolitical noise and often politicized narratives surrounding China’s AI 
development, DataBeyond offers a powerful rebuttal through tangible social impact.
The company proves that cutting-edge AI shouldn’t just live on servers in the cloud;
it belongs in the trenches, taking on the harsh environments that humans shouldn’t
have to endure. Here, automation isn’t about replacing people — it’s about protecting
human health and dignity.

As we march toward an intelligent era, AI must be more than a cold, calculated race
for efficiency. From the mundane task of sorting waste to the broader vision of 
a global green transition, Chinese innovators are demonstrating how inclusive, tech-
for-good values can thrive. As we accelerate toward the future, these innovators
are helping ensure that the emerging intelligent era is grounded in human-centric
values.

**_China Mosaic__[http://www.china.org.cn/video/node\_7230027.htm](http://www.china.org.cn/video/node_7230027.htm)_

**_Tech for good: How a Chinese startup reinvented recycling_[_http://www.china.org.cn/video/2026-07/16/content\_118602105.shtml_](http://www.china.org.cn/video/2026-07/16/content_118602105.shtml)

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