Greyparrot, the AI waste analytics company, has been named Circular Economy Project of the Year at the UK Green Business Awards 2026 for its pioneering Deepnest Packaging Waste Intelligence Platform.
The award recognises Greyparrot’s work using AI-powered waste analysis to give brands unprecedented visibility into what happens to their packaging after it is discarded, helping them design more recyclable packaging, reduce waste and accelerate the transition towards a circular economy.
Greyparrot was selected as the winner from a highly competitive shortlist featuring major organisations and established sustainability initiatives, including easyJet’s Uniform Recycling and Donation Initiative and Virgin Media O2 and Hubbub’s Time After Time Initiative.
The judges praised Greyparrot’s “pioneering packaging waste intelligence platform”, highlighting its ability to provide leading brands with the data and transparency needed to improve packaging circularity. They also recognised the company’s real-world impact, noting its impressive client base and role in enabling design improvements that enhance recyclability and reduce environmental impact.
Other nominees included IFCO UK’s ASDA Reusable Packaging Container Project, enfinium’s Repair Café Support Fund, Equans UK & Ireland, InfraRed Capital Partners and Vercity’s Recirculate Project, alongside other innovative circular economy projects from across the UK.
The award adds to a growing list of industry recognition for Greyparrot, including:
- Named one of TIME’s Best Inventions for its AI-powered waste intelligence technology
- Ranked #5 in TechRound’s AI45, which celebrates the top 45 AI companies
- Named as one of Fast Company World Changing Ideas 2025 and Most Innovative Companies 2025
- Winner of the AI or Technology of the Year at the "Awards for Excellence" in Recycling & Waste Management
- Named a Sifted 100 fastest-growing startups in the UK & Ireland 2025
Commenting on the win, Ambarish Mitra, Co-founder of Greyparrot, said:
"Packaging that looks recyclable on paper is often unrecoverable in practice. That gap has been invisible to brands, until now.
Deepnest measures how products actually perform inside real recycling facilities across 20+ countries. In our data, clear PET sorts at close to 95%, while some coloured PET falls as low as 15%. Same material, very different outcomes.
For consumer brands facing EPR and PPWR, that visibility is now a commercial advantage. It turns sustainable packaging from a guessing game into a design decision backed by evidence.""Winning in a category of companies of this calibre shows how critical data and intelligence have become to solving the global circularity challenge. The impact is already real. The bigger prize is roll our of this technology to connect the whole packaging value chain and accelerate the shift to a circular economy."