SARASOTA, Fla. — A recycling facility in Sarasota is now using state-of-the-art robots to make every piece of your trash count.
- Robots in use at Single Stream Recyclers
- First recycling robots in use in Florida
- More Manatee County stories
“In the recycling industry, it is very difficult to find labor that actually wants to work on a sort line picking garbage,” said Jason Hanson, co-owner of Single Stream Recyclers.
To combat their staffing issues, Henson purchased six artificial intelligence-driven robots that sort and pick through conveyors of trash. Utilizing their A.I., cameras, and lasers, the machines can determine each type of plastic and sort it into its appropriate bin at lightning speed.
These are the first recycling robots to be stationed in Florida.
“Robots [are] going to be the future of the industry,” said Henson.
Experts say the robots get smarter over time, helping current workers sort through more than 300 tons of cardboard, plastic, and aluminum more efficiently.
"That brain is learning every second of every day," said Brent Hildebrand, managing director of AMP Robotics, the company behind the robots.
The facility brings in recycling from several areas in the Bay area, including Hillsborough and Manatee County.