Single Stream Recyclers adds robotic sorter

Sarasota, Florida-based Single Stream Recyclers (SSR), a material recovery facility (MRF) that serves residential and commercial recycling programs, has added what it describes as Florida’s first artificial intelligence- (AI-) powered recycling robotic system.

The system uses AI to identify, grab and sort aseptic and gable top food and beverage cartons from the recycling stream.

“We are excited to be a leader in Florida—and the country—in adding this innovative technology to make sure we capture as many food and beverage cartons as possible to prevent them from ending up in landfills,’’ says John Hansen, co-owner of Single Stream Recyclers, which opened its Sarasota facility in March 2018.

Developed by Amp Robotics, Denver, the system uses advanced computer vision and machine learning to recognize different colors, textures, shapes, sizes and patterns that identify food and beverage cartons in the recycling stream. It directs a high-speed robot to pick, sort and place the cartons for recycling. The robot learns as it goes, improving over time and picking up to 80 items per minute, about double the average pick rate of a human, Single Stream Recyclers says.

This robot is the first of six to be installed at the nearly 100,000-square-foot recycling facility.

“It’s more important than ever to sort out the most valuable materials,” Hansern says. “Employing this robot will be another step toward making recycling more effective, while also reducing the amount of waste that goes to our landfills or worse, ends up as litter.”

“SSR is leading the way as a recycling innovator, with this being the single largest deployment of AI and robotics in the nation,” Matanya Horowitz, chief executive officer of Amp, says. “John and his team have been fantastic to work with in making this happen. Robotics will continue to revolutionize recycling, and this represents another milestone of industry adoption. The support from SSR and the Carton Council puts us another step closer to making that possible.’’

A grant from the Carton Council of North America, Denton, Texas, made installation of the first robotic sorter possible.  

“We are thrilled to partner with SSR on bringing this cutting-edge technology to Florida,’’ says Scott Byrne, director of government affairs for the Carton Council and circular economy expert for the U.S. and Canada for Tetra Pak. “Food and beverage cartons are a recyclable package. Made of high-quality fiber with end markets across North America, as well as solid export options, they should go on to be used to produce new paper products or environmentally friendly building materials. We hope other communities will take note and boost their efforts to capture as many food and beverage cartons as possible.’’