Millennium Recycling partners with Waste Robotics to boost recovery

Quebec-based technology provider Waste Robotics has achieved a “significant breakthrough” in its partnership with Millennium Recycling, a single-stream material recovery facility (MRF) in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

According to Waste Robotics, Millennium Recycling had been looking to improve the presort stage of its recycling process as it faced increasing labor challenges and sought a “robust solution” to handle problematic material that could potentially damage equipment.

“Our main challenges here is employee availability,” Millennium Recycling President Shannon Dwire says. “We are not able to obtain enough employees to keep our system with low unemployment in this area, [as well as] the quality of material. We needed a way to become more efficient.”

That solution was installing two advanced sorting robots equipped with Waste Robotics’ Gripper AI (artificial intelligence) technology on Millennium’s presort line. The robots had been specifically designed to manage and remove bags and other bulky items to reduce the risk of equipment breakdown and optimize the sorting process.

Since the integration of the robots, Millennium Recycling reports a 55 percent increase in material recovery rates.

“Instead of a turnkey solution, we got something that we wanted and were able to change our process,” Dwire says.

“We’re able to run a little quicker [since the installation]. We run more material through; we’re more efficient. We have [the robots] on the infeed where we pull out contaminants ahead of the system so the system runs better, has less clogging and staff have more help so the material is removed before it gets to our staff.”

“The success at Millennium Recycling is a testament to Waste Robotics’ commitment to innovation in waste management technology,” the company says in a statement. “As the variety and volume of waste grow globally, Waste Robotics remains at the forefront of developing and implementing solutions that enhance recycling and waste sorting processes.”

Along with the success at Millennium, Waste Robotics also announced an expansion of its headquarters in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, to a new 15,000-square-foot facility.

“Our new headquarters will enable us to continue advancing our technologies and solutions, ensuring we remain at the leading edge of the waste management industry,” Waste Robotics CEO Eric Camirand says.