Amp makes Virginia acquisition

Amp Robotics Corp., a Louisville, Colorado-based provider of sorting technology for the waste and recycling industry, has acquired the Portsmouth, Virginia, operations of RDS of Virginia LLC. RDS Portsmouth has been providing recycling services in the South Hampton Roads region of Virginia since 2005.

Since late 2023, AMP has operated an artificial intelligence- (AI-) powered Amp One system to process locally sourced municipal solid waste (MSW) in Portsmouth. The system is capable of handling up to 150 tons of MSW per day, separating recyclables and organic material from bagged trash. According to Amp, the facility can divert more than 50 percent of landfill-bound material when paired with organics management and mixed recyclables sorting systems.

RELATED: Amp, Waste Connections break ground on MRF project

In addition to the MSW processing facility, RDS Portsmouth’s operations also include a single-stream facility, which Amp will look to grow in the future.

“We’re focused on enabling a new model for the processing of municipal solid waste, and we see the success of our operations in Portsmouth as a blueprint for municipalities across the country looking to extend the life of their landfills and reach ambitious diversion targets,” Amp CEO Tim Stuart says. “As we grow, we’ll continue to evaluate potential acquisitions that would enable the processing of more tonnage by our systems and further demonstrate the impact of our technology on waste economics.”

“I’m proud of the company my team and I built over the last two decades, and I’m excited to see how Amp builds on that foundation,” says Joe Benedetto, former president of RDS Portsmouth. “Extracting recyclables and organic material from MSW is capturing more of the value in our waste, which is critical with communities shuttering recycling programs due to increasing costs. The way Amp is processing MSW here in Portsmouth shows what’s possible with cutting-edge technology.”