Largest Recycling Project in the US to Extend Landfill Life for Virginia Residents

Southeastern Virginia Public Service Authority (“SPSA”), the regional waste authority for South Hampton Roads, has entered into a 20-year contract with Commonwealth Sortation LLC, an affiliate of AMP Robotics Corporation (together, “AMP”), to provide solid waste processing services to eight SPSA member communities and their 1.2 million residents.

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Based on a nearly two-year pilot project in Portsmouth—which featured an AMP ONE™ system capable of processing up to 150 tonnes of locally sourced municipal waste (“MSW”) per day—AMP will now expand the technology throughout the region. Through this long-term partnership, which will facilitate the largest recycling project in the country, AMP will deploy additional waste sorting lines and organic management systems capable of processing 540,000 tons annually to divert half of the waste SPSA brings to AMP facilities.

AMP’s AI-based sorting technology uses cameras, robotics and pneumatic jets to detect and remove recyclables and organic waste from trash bags. With the AMP solution, SPSA can:

• Extending the life of the landfill;

• Reduce long-term collection and disposal costs for society; And

• Adapt to the growing needs of society, including organic waste management, to better support growing and developing areas.

Dennis Bagley, executive director of SPSA, said, “This project will enable us to improve how we manage waste from the communities we serve, turning 1.2 million residents into active recyclers, while doubling the lifespan of our landfills. This technology shows that there are effective ways to recover valuable resources from waste, and we are proud to be at the forefront of providing high-quality, transparent waste management services.”

Partnering with AMP guarantees the region will recycle 20% of its waste—more than double the recycling rate of the region’s highest-performing communities—while eliminating the need for separate recycling facilities and trucks to process the majority of recyclable waste. A waste characterization study conducted by SPSA found high levels of recycling, especially plastics and metals, in the Hampton Roads waste stream—even in communities that practice curbside recycling.

Tim Stuart, CEO of AMP, said, “Recycling rates have been hampered by both society and the country as a whole over the last decade and a half. Projects like this offer a new recycling model, one that is better aligned with local waste infrastructure. Our approach to municipal waste processing will significantly reduce the volume of waste that SPSA has to landfill, enabling the creation of useful end products, and doing so with much lower emissions levels compared to competing solutions. Ultimately, this is a win-win for all involved, and will be a model for other communities looking to adopt better waste management practices sustainable.”

Specifically, this solution will allow all residential and commercial waste to be collected in one bin. AMP will utilize two sorting facilities in Portsmouth to extract recyclables (plastics, metals and fibres) and organics, while collaborating with SPSA to dispose of the residue. A third facility, adjacent to the sorting facility on Victory Boulevard, will convert organic material captured through indirect heating into biochar, a charcoal-like substance that sequesters carbon.

By creating processing capacity across multiple locations rather than centralizing it in one location, SPSA gains operational resilience, reduces the risk of downtime, and ensures reliable landfill diversion. In addition to extending the life of SPSA landfills, every ton of waste diverted also reduces or sequesters more than 0.7 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent greenhouse gases—equating to more than 378,000 tons of carbon dioxide avoided or removed annually across SPSA’s treatable waste—roughly the equivalent of taking more than 88,000 cars off the road for a year.

AMP, which is backed by investors including Sequoia Capital, Congruent Ventures, In contrast to legacy waste processing facilities where the workforce was concentrated in manual sorting roles, AMP solutions rely on production operators having the opportunity to learn how to optimize the technology and automated systems they manage.

About AMP™

AMP applies AI-powered sorting at scale to modernize the world’s recycling infrastructure and maximize the value of waste. AMP designs, builds and operates state-of-the-art, cost-effective facilities to process single-stream recycling and municipal solid waste. The company’s AI platform has identified more than 200 billion items and its systems have processed 2.8 million tons of recyclables. With three full-scale facilities and more than 400 AI systems deployed across North America, Asia and Europe, AMP technology offers a transformational solution for waste sorting and changing the fundamentals of the recycling economy.

About SPSA

The Southeastern Public Service Authority (SPSA) manages solid waste services for more than 1.2 million residents in eight southeastern Virginia communities: Chesapeake, Franklin, Isle of Wight County, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Southampton County, Suffolk, and Virginia Beach. Founded in 1976, SPSA is dedicated to providing environmentally responsible and cost-effective waste solutions. Learn more at www.spsava.gov or follow SPSA on Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube.

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Contact

Media Contact

Carling Spelhaug

carling@ampsortation.com

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“This technology shows that there are effective ways to recover valuable resources from waste, and we are proud to be at the forefront of providing high-quality and transparent waste management services.”

VIDEO: Southeast Virginia Public Service Authority has contracted with AMP to process municipal solid waste cost-effectively for eight SPSA member communities. Through this long-term partnership, which will facilitate the largest recycling project in the country, AMP will deploy additional waste sorting lines and organic management systems capable of processing 540,000 tons annually to divert half of the waste SPSA brings to AMP facilities.