Recycling robot provider EverestLabs has signed a contract to install up to eight of its recycling robotic cells at the Sims Municipal Recycling Sunset Park Materials Recovery Facility, or SMR, in Brooklyn, New York. The company announced the deal in a release published today, noting that the facility has been using four EverestLabs robotic cells since the spring.
Fremont, Calif.-based EverestLabs said it helps manufacturing recycling facilities, or MRFs, recover more recyclable martials by combining artificial intelligence, data analytics, and robotics. Its flagship product is its operating system, RecycleOS.
SMR is EverestLabs’ largest customer
SMR is a commingled recycling facility, which means items in the facility are recycled in a single stream. EverestLabs noted that SMR processes more than 300,000 tons of martials a year, which is comprised of glass, metal, and plastics thrown out by residents of New York City and several other municipalities in the area. It is considered to be the largest commingled recycling facility in North America.
“SMR is the processor of 100% of the metal, glass, and plastic, and 50% of the paper collected by the NYC Department of Sanitation throughout the five boroughs, “according to an excerpt on its website.
“For SMR, this means speed, efficacy and accuracy when picking and recovering recycled materials are essential,” EverestLabs added.
JD Ambati told Robotics 24/7 that RecycleOS provides MRFs with the tools they need to track and manage the hundreds of items that come through their doors. Using its software and hardware, EverestLabs can help customers determine how many items are going through a line in a given minute or hour. Using its robots, it can help them grab those items to increase efficiency.
“What makes us different from other vendors is that we built a robust compute infrastructure that scales very well inside any recycling ecosystem,” he said.
SMR is EverestLabs’ biggest customers yet. In a statement, Tom Feretti, general manager at SMR, said EverestLabs’ has enabled the MRF to save costs and move workers to higher-priority positions.
“It is a win for NYC recycling as we are recovering more, for our team members, and plant safety and efficiency,” he said.
SMR’s use of robotics can reduce overflow of NY landfills
In a prepared statement, Ambati added that the partnership is helping address wider global issues.
“Today’s landfills are overflowing with materials meant for recycling. Exacerbating this problem is the myriad of challenges faced by MRFs, from staffing issues to equipment inefficiencies and lack of real time data to optimize recovery every minute.”
“By partnering with EverestLabs, the entire SMR organization has made New York a national model for simplifying and improving materials recovery, and most importantly protecting our environment. We are excited to participate in that journey,” he added.
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