Companies are joining forces to prove that robotics and artificial intelligence can enhance the economic viability of recycling. EverestLabs, developer of RecycleOS for material recovery facilities, announced its partnership with Lakeshore Recycling Systems (LRS), the fifth-largest provider of independent waste-diversion, recycling, and portable services in the U.S.
LRS has installed EverestLabs’ RecycleOS sorting robot in The Exchange, a new material recovery facility (MRF). Ardagh Metal Packaging and Crown Holdings, members of the Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI), provided funding support.
The robot operates on The Exchange’s residual line to boost revenue and ensure maximum efficiency in the recovery and recycling of used beverage cans (UBCs), maintaining quality control for over 350,000 pounds (158,757.3 kg) of recycled aluminum each month, equivalent to about 12 million aluminum beverage cans.
Recycling Requires Higher Recovery Rates
CMI’s 2020 report, “Aluminum Beverage Can: Driver of the U.S. Recycling System,” found that up to 25% of all UBCs entering MRFs may be missorted and lost due to non-recovery. Additionally, industry statistics show that U.S. consumers recycle less than half of aluminum beverage cans.
“UBCs are not being captured and utilized to their fullest potential in the circular economy,” stated CMI. The institute has set proper sortation at recycling centers as one of its four pillars of action to reach its U.S. UBC recycling rate targets.
Capturing missorted cans at MRFs is a key method to increase the U.S. aluminum beverage can recycling rate, according to CMI.
CMI is the national trade association of the metal can manufacturing industry and its suppliers in the U.S. The sector employs more than 28,000 people across plants in 33 states, Puerto Rico, and American Samoa, generating about $15.7 billion in direct economic activity.
CMI and EverestLabs Continue Robotic Recycling Efforts
The LRS lease program is the latest in a multiyear CMI effort to demonstrate that new technologies can increase recycling revenue for MRFs by capturing missorted UBCs. This partnership follows a collaboration between CMI, EverestLabs, and Caglia Environmental that has captured over 1,500 additional UBCs per day since installation at a Caglia MRF.
“With both robot lease agreements that include a revenue share, CMI leverages the consistent high value of UBCs as a recyclable commodity,” said Scott Breen, senior vice president of sustainability at CMI. “CMI receives a portion of all revenue generated from the cans collected by the robot and uses those funds for more can-capture equipment in MRFs.”
“The Exchange in Chicago is our second project with CMI, and we support their mission to significantly increase the amount of UBCs recycled,” added JD Ambati, founder and CEO of EverestLabs. “Our highly accurate, easily deployed vision systems and robots make it possible to retrofit existing sorting and last-chance lines at a cost-effective ownership model for both MRFs and aluminum packaging companies.” EverestLabs, based in Fremont, California, claims that RecycleOS can help increase materials recovery rates, preventing greenhouse gas emissions and saving energy in manufacturing new packaging. The company is backed by leading U.S., Canadian, and Japanese venture funds.
LRS Opens State-of-the-Art Recycling Facility
Since 2013, LRS has served millions of residential and commercial customers across nine states: Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Kansas, and Arkansas. The company owns and operates more than 70 facilities and has nearly 2,300 full-time employees.
Rosemont, Illinois-based LRS announced the grand opening of The Exchange in August 2023, installing an EverestLabs RecycleOS robotics cell later that year.
The Exchange processes up to 1,200 tons per day of municipal solid waste (MSW) and currently handles 25 tons of recyclables per hour. The facility includes a transfer station and a single-stream sorting line, with space for future expansion. It accepts single-stream recyclables, non-hazardous and non-special MSW, and various other recyclables.
With RecycleOS, LRS stated that its facility can divert 224 million pounds (101.6 million kg) of recyclables annually, resulting in thousands of tons of avoided CO2 emissions for the Chicagoland area. The company is also using The Exchange to educate corporate partners and organizations on responsible production, consumption, and recycling behaviors.
“At LRS, we push the boundaries in recycling, and partnering with EverestLabs to install this innovative technology amplifies our commitment to sustainable recycling solutions,” said John Sliwicki, area vice president at LRS. “By integrating EverestLabs’ RecycleOS robot into our Chicagoland materials recovery facility, we’ve further enhanced our ability to rescue recyclables from ending up in landfills and advanced our mission of investing in infrastructure improvements that lessen our environmental impact.”
