It has been demonstrated that the identification and
separation of plastic resins can be obtained using
measurements of the NIR reflectance spectroscopy. An
identification system has been proposed that uses only two
specific wavelengths in the NIR region. Using this system
identification of plastic resins was correctly performed. A
reliable separation and sorting among containers and bottles
made of PET, HDPE, PVC, PP and PS is possible with the
proposed optoelectronic sorting system. Tests in this study
have shown that thickness changing of samples, and the
existence of a label or a cap are not expected to cause
difficulty using the identification system and in optoelectronic
sorting system. NIR reflectance spectroscopy offers many
advantages for identification and sorting plastic resin, though
this method is not suitable for the identification of dark
colored plastics