Glacier, the Amazon-backed AI and robotics company accelerating material recovery nationwide, has deployed its AI sorting technology at Penn Waste Inc.鈥檚 Material Recovery Facility (MRF) in York County, Pennsylvania. The project, supported by funding from Cox Enterprises, a sustainability leader and certified zero-waste company, advances shared goals of driving innovation in recycling. Penn Waste Inc. is a Waste Connections company.
The Penn Waste facility, one of the largest single-stream MRFs in the Northeastern U.S., is integrating Glacier鈥檚 AI sorting system on its fiber line to boost recovery of materials such as cardboard and PET. Preliminary results indicate the technology enhances the recovery of recyclable materials for beneficial reuse, increases landfill diversion, and improves the quality of recovered paper, delivering cleaner feedstock for mills and greater value from recycled commodities.
Glacier鈥檚 AI sorting robots use advanced computer vision to identify and sort more than 70 material types, from PET plastic and aluminum to less common packaging like toothpaste tubes. Proven in real facilities and frequently achieving 45 picks per minute on a variety of material streams, the compact, cost-efficient system installs in under a day, delivers real-time commodity data, and runs reliably in any climate. Furthermore, when coupled with Glacier鈥檚 AI-powered data platform, this system provides MRFs with in-depth data and insights into the materials being recycled, allowing for improved recovery, purity rates and operational efficiency. By improving recovery and material quality, Glacier helps operators capture more commodity value, strengthen margins, enhance worker safety, and meet growing compliance and ESG reporting requirements – often paying for itself in under a year.
鈥淢RFs don鈥檛 have the luxury of waiting years for a solution to prove itself,鈥� said Rebecca Hu-Thrams, CEO and co-founder of Glacier. 鈥淥ver the last year, we鈥檝e doubled the amount of live units because operators see immediate value: higher recovery rates, cleaner material quality, and the confidence that our robots work anywhere, in any season. We鈥檙e proud to work alongside Waste Connections and Cox to modernize recycling infrastructure and improve operational impact.鈥�
Cox backed the installation as part of its circular economy initiatives and to improve circularity in a key region for its operations. The Penn Waste facility processes about 225 tons of recycling each year from Manheim Pennsylvania, one of Cox Automotive鈥檚 80+ wholesale auction sites that provides dealers and commercial clients with services like vehicle sales, reconditioning, imaging, logistics, and more.
鈥淢anheim鈥檚 rich history in Pennsylvania makes this especially meaningful to Cox, and our commitment to advancing the circular economy here is unwavering. By partnering with Glacier and Waste Connections at the Penn Waste facility, we are strengthening the recycling infrastructure our communities rely on, and also setting the standard for keeping valuable materials in circulation while driving real, lasting impact for the region,鈥� said Amit Vyas, VP of Environmental Sustainability at Cox Enterprises.
鈥淲e are pleased to integrate Glacier鈥檚 advanced AI sorting system into our Penn Waste facility and to continually raise the standard for recycling technology, benefitting our customers, communities, and the environment, 鈥� said Kyle Byler, Division Vice President at Waste Connections.