The partnership follows a two-year pilot project in Portsmouth, Virginia, where AMP’s artificial intelligence (AI) system was used to process up to 150 tonnes of municipal waste each year.
SPSA manages waste for eight southeastern Virginian communities, covering around 1.2 million residents.
Tim Stuart, CEO of AMP, said: “Our approach to processing MSW will significantly reduce the volume of waste SPSA must landfill, enable the creation of useful end products, and do so with meaningfully lower emissions levels than those resulting from competing solutions.
“At the end of the day, it is a win-win for all involved, and will serve as a model for other communities seeking to adopt more sustainable waste management practices.”
540,000 tonnes of annual capacity
Under the new contract, AMP will install additional mixed-waste sortation lines and an organics management system across multiple sites, designed to handle around 540,000 tonnes of waste annually.
The authority said that the pilot demonstrated the operational potential of AI-assisted sorting, which uses camera systems, robotics and pneumatic ejection to target recyclables and organics directly from bagged residual waste.
AMP will operate two sortation sites in Portsmouth, Virginia, and a third facility for organics treatment.
The latter will convert separated food and organic waste into biochar through indirect heating, a process the company said will offer long-term carbon storage.
Expected to improve recycling rates
The roll-out is expected to extend the life of its landfill and reduce long-term disposal costs, while removing the requirement for most dedicated recycling trucks and Material Recovery Facility (MRF) capacity.
Waste composition studies by SPSA indicated that significant volumes of plastics and metals remain in the area’s residual waste stream, including in districts with existing kerbside services.
The authority estimates the programme will secure at least a 20% recycling rate across the region, higher than current levels in any individual member community.
Stuart added: “Recycling rates have been stuck for both communities and the nation at large for the last decade and a half.
“Projects like this one offer a new model for recycling, one that’s better aligned with local waste infrastructure.”
AMP expects to create around 100 jobs linked to the facilities, with roles focused on operating and maintaining automated systems rather than manual sorting.
The company is backed by several investment funds, including Sequoia Capital and the Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund.
The AMP One was named one of TIME’s Best Innovations of 2025.
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