Matanya Horowitz’s recycling robots are saving the planet, one Starbucks cup at a time

Matanya Horowitz’s company, AMP Robotics, uses computer vision and machine learning at recycling centers to identify and sort materials twice as fast as humans, extracting a greater value from the recycling stream. More than 50 of its systems have been installed in recycling centers worldwide. AMP Robotics’s technology makes it possible to identify and recycle specific items, such as Starbucks’s recyclable paper coffee cups. “Because we have this robot that doesn’t get tired or lose its focus, we’re able to sort these additional materials at basically no marginal cost to facilities,” says Horowitz, explaining that humans work alongside the robots to help remove larger contaminants that the machines can’t handle (such as pieces of wood). In the past year, the system has learned to recognize more than three dozen new material categories and thousands of new form factors.