AI-Enabled Robots Pave The Way Toward Automated Recycling

THE CHALLENGE

According to research by Resource Recycling Systems (RRS), 6.9 million tons of recoverable materials are thrown away annually in Michigan. Expanding recycling processing capacity is a key part of diverting these materials from landfills and instead feeding them back into the economy. In addition, with brands constantly releasing new types of packaging there is also a need for innovation around sorting. Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) - where recyclables are sorted and baled - often have equipment that is limited --both in what can be sorted and how quickly. Furthermore, new MRF equipment can be expensive to purchase, install, and maintain. Our current recycling infrastructure is not keeping up with the changing material stream, but one NextCycle Michigan team, Glacier, is entering the recycling automation field with an innovative and more affordable solution to this problem. 

THE SOLUTION

Glacier robot installed on conveyor.

Glacier is a San Francisco-based company founded in 2019. With a $4.5 million seed funding round led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA), they joined the emerging field of computer-vision-enabled robots that automate recycling sorting. The Glacier robot is custom-designed to sort dozens of commodity types across a sort line of any width – something no other robotic sorter can currently do. AI-enabled computer vision allows the robot to identify a wide range of recyclable items (some as granular as toothpaste tubes or cat food cans), learn from an ever-changing recycling stream, and adapt.  

What stands out most about Glacier’s robots is that they offer significantly higher return on investment than most other recycle-sorting technologies. 

“Before we started the business, we wondered why so few MRFs had invested in robotic sortation. More consistent, lower-cost sortation seemed like a no-brainer. So, we went out and asked the folks who know best - MRF operators,” said Rebecca Hu, CEO of Glacier. “We were struck by our findings. All of the operators we talked to had heard of robots, but the vast majority of them didn’t own one. Almost four out of five operators who didn’t have a robot told us they were specifically waiting to invest in robots that could pick better and at lower cost than what was currently on the market.  Our team at Glacier is custom-building that robot." 

Glacier’s robot is also more compact and lightweight, so installation can be accomplished in less than 24 hours and requires no specialized equipment. That means zero downtime and minimal installation costs for the MRF, compared to up to 6 weeks of downtime and over $100,000 in retrofit costs that are common in other equipment installations. 

The Glacier robot’s footprint requires as little as three feet of conveyor length compared to the typical robot’s 9-12 feet. Since most MRFs are space-constrained, the ability to add automation with smaller machinery significantly increases the value Glacier can provide to these facilities.  

AI image of materials on conveyor.

Glacier’s robot is very efficient at doing its job. It can recover over 500 tons of plastic in 12 months, which can help close the demand gap between feedstock and end markets. It can sort materials 24 hours per day, seven days a week at 20% of the cost of a worker. Reducing manual sorting also addresses worker safety issues.  

THE RESULTS

In 2022, Glacier joined the NextCycle Michigan Recycling Innovation & Technology (RIT) Accelerator Track cohort to scale their enterprise. During programming, they worked with industry experts at RRS to continue testing their technology, gained support from Centrepolis Accelerator, and established agreements to implement Glacier’s robot and AI technology at two Michigan MRFs, collectively serving 1.2 million people. 

Glacier co-founders: Rebecca Hu and Areeb Malik

Judges at the NextCycle Michigan Pitch Showcase were impressed with Glacier’s innovative recycling technology and awarded them the Centrepolis Accelerator 2022 Pitch Award. Glacier’s project with Michigan MRFs was also selected to receive a $367,000 Recycling Grant from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, with additional project funding from The Recycling Partnership, the Carton Council, and the Foodservice Packaging Institute.  

Glacier continues to partner with MRFs, municipalities, and manufacturers to support future pilots and is engaged in the NextCycle network as it continues testing and proving its market viability in Michigan. Glacier has also been accepted as a team in the NextCycle Washington program.