EverestLabs, a leading climate tech company, has partnered with LRS, the nation’s fifth largest independent waste diversion, recycling and portable services provider, to increase the recycling rate of aluminum beverage cans. This partnership is supported by funding from CMI, the Can Manufacturers Institute, and includes the installation of EverestLabs’ RecycleOS robot, an AI-enabled material sorting robot, at LRS’s The Exchange MRF in Chicago.
The EverestLabs robot is designed to capture missorted UBCs (used beverage cans), which can significantly increase the revenue for the recycling system and ensure maximum efficiency, recovery, and recycling of UBCs. This is especially important as current research suggests that up to 25 percent of all UBCs entering MRFs may be missorted and lost due to non-recovery. By capturing these missorted cans, the partnership aims to improve the aluminum recycling ecosystem and reach ambitious recycling rate goals.
The partnership with LRS follows on the heels of a similar agreement between CMI, EverestLabs and Caglia Environmental, which has captured additional UBCs per day since installation at a Caglia MRF. This demonstrates the potential for increased revenue and the need for additional can capture equipment in MRFs.
CMI has identified proper sortation at recycling centers as one of its key initiatives to reach its ambitious U.S. aluminum beverage can recycling rate goals. EverestLabs’ highly accurate, easily deployed vision systems and robots make it possible to retrofit existing sorting and last chance lines at a cost of ownership that makes sense for both MRFs and aluminum packaging companies.
The Exchange in Chicago is LRS’s second project with CMI, and they have been behind their mission to significantly increase the amount of UBCs recycled. The facility is able to divert 224 million pounds of recyclables annually, resulting in thousands of tons of avoided CO2 emissions for the Chicagoland area. The installation of the EverestLabs RecycleOS Robotics cell later this year will further enhance their ability to rescue recyclables from ending up in landfills and advance their mission of investing in infrastructure improvements that lessen their environmental impact.
This partnership is a testament to the growing recognition of the importance of recycling and the role that technology can play in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the recycling process. By working together, EverestLabs, LRS, and CMI are helping to create a more sustainable future for all.
