Updated Jan 2024
The transformational technology will support larger PET recycling streams, higher rPET manufacturing volumes across Evergreen.
Evergreen, one of North America’s largest producers of food grade recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET), installed artificial intelligence-enabled bottle sorting robotics at its Albany, New York plastics recycling and rPET manufacturing facility in 2022. With this installation Evergreen has deployed high-speed, robotic sort capability lines at all three of it’s United States locations.
Supplying the robotics sorting lines to Albany is AMP Robotics Corp., a pioneer in artificial intelligence (AI) robotics and infrastructure for the waste industry. AMP installed the AI-enabled robotic sorting lines in Evergreen Clyde in April 2021 and Evergreen Riverside in August 2021.
Chief Operating Officer Greg Johnson, says the AI-enabled sorting lines are an absolute necessity to increase both the speed and accuracy of sorting the monumental volume of bottles Evergreen processes. “With the use of AI-powered robotics, we can identify and pick more contaminants from the stream, leaving high quality clear and green PET bottles to be recycled. The consistency and reliability of the robots has revolutionized our process. Our goal is to capture all bottles we can use in our food-grade rPET pellet.”
About Evergreen
Established in 1998 with a single location in Clyde, Ohio, Evergreen is a recycling company and one of North America’s largest producers of food grade recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET), a recycled resin used as a green alternative to virgin resin in beverage bottles, food containers, health and beauty packaging, home products, and others. In 2021, Evergreen acquired three additional locations in Albany, New York; Amherst, Nova Scotia; and Riverside, California; and deployed AI-enabled robotics to transform its recycling practices. Evergreen is the preferred supplier of rPET to top global brands, helping customers increase recycled content in their packaging, keep plastic out of landfills and oceans, and meet sustainability and ESG goals. Evergreen is a proud member of the American Beverage Association, NAPCOR and the Association of Plastic Recyclers. Visit www.Evergreentogether.com.
AMP Robotics: Robotic Sorting for Plastics — AMP Robotics