This startup put cameras on garbage trucks and raised SEK 8 million

Waste collection usually records where a truck went and how much it picked up. Sortrace wants to add a more specific question: what was actually in each bin? The Stockholm startup combines cameras, computer vision and data analysis to identify sorting mistakes in material collected by municipalities and recycling operators.

The company has raised SEK 8 million in its first funding round, according to investor Almi Invest. Almi says the round also included Gorilla Capital and Antler, and that Sortrace plans to use the capital to develop its platform and reach more customers. Gorilla Capital describes a system that captures images as bins are emptied, then turns them into records of waste fractions and sorting errors. The company says images are anonymized on the truck and stored in the European Union.

The attention-grabbing idea is not another recycling reminder app. It is a measurement layer for a process that often gets discussed through broad targets and occasional audits. If the data is accurate and useful, a municipality could see where contamination happens and decide where education or operational changes might help. The investor announcement does not publish measured improvements in recycling rates, so that outcome remains to be demonstrated.

The first test is whether city buyers keep paying for the information after initial deployments. Better visibility is only valuable if it changes collection decisions or material recovery. Sortrace is betting that seeing the contents of the bin can make local waste policy more practical.