A device and a method for processing parent parts and for sorting waste parts thereby separated. For this purpose, an optical detection unit is provided, which is configured to detect at least one geometric feature G of each waste part and to generate a control signal S corresponding to the at least one detected geometric feature G. The control signal S is transmitted to a sorting unit. The fed waste part is sorted depending on the received control signal S. It is thus possible to assign the separated waste parts to a specific parent part. This in turn enables an assignment and determination of the material of which the waste part consists, which specifically corresponds to the material of which the parent part consists. This enables the waste parts to be separated into different categories.