To support the circular economy, LRS recently installed an EverestLabs’ RecycleOS material sorting AI and robot system in its newly opened material recovery facility (MRF), The Exchange, on the residual line to help increase revenue and ensure maximum efficiency, recovery, and recycling of used beverage cans (UBCs). The EverestLabs AI robot assists LRS in recycling aluminum by maintaining quality control for over 350,000 pounds of recycled aluminum each month at The Exchange, which equates to approximately 12 million aluminum beverage cans.
This was made possible with the funding support from Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI) members Ardagh Metal Packaging and Crown Holdings. This is the latest effort by CMI over several years to show how capturing missorted UBCs can increase revenue for the recycling system. The goal is also to encourage the installation of more UBC capture equipment in MRFs nationwide. The partnership with LRS follows on the heels of a collaboration between CMI, EverestLabs, and Caglia Environmental, which has captured more than 1,500 additional UBCs per day since installation at a Caglia MRF.
“With both robot lease agreements that include a revenue share, CMI is able to leverage that UBCs are consistently one of the most valuable recyclable commodities,” shared Scott Breen, senior vice president of sustainability at CMI. “CMI is receiving a portion of all revenue generated from the cans collected by the robot and then using those funds for even more can-capture equipment in MRFs.”
LRS announced the grand opening of The Exchange, a state-of-the-art MRF revolutionizing waste management and recycling practices, in August 2023, and installed an EverestLabs RecycleOS AI and robotics later that year. Supported by EverestLabs’ material recovery efforts, 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 Exchange in Chicago is our second project with CMI, and we have been behind their mission to significantly increase the amount of UBCs recycled,” said 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 of ownership that makes perfect sense for both MRFs and aluminum packaging companies."
Interested in obtaining a grant to fund a robot in your facility? Get in touch with us at hello@everestlabs.ai