Project Grant 2223186

Rstream Recycling LLC received a $275,000 Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation under the NSF Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program (CFDA 47.084) to develop an autonomous waste sorting platform. The platform aims to improve landfill diversion and recycling rates for non-industrial waste streams at high-traffic venues like stadiums, universities, airports, and theme parks. Currently, waste sorting at these facilities is done manually or through expensive robotic systems, hindering recycling efforts.

Rstream will develop hardware and software using computer vision and machine learning to enable on-site, decentralized sorting of mixed waste into recyclable materials. The solution consists of a singulation system to arrange objects individually, followed by classification to identify and sort items. A semi-supervised learning approach will allow for rapid implementation of site-specific sorting schemes with minimal human intervention. Successful completion of the project would result in a lower-cost, more robust alternative to existing waste sorting methods, with the goal of increasing recycling of the 66 million tons of recoverable materials currently landfilled annually in the U.S.