The Kent County Department of Public Works is piloting an AMP ONE municipal solid waste processing system to recover valuable recyclable waste material before it goes into landfills or is burned at the Waste-to-Energy facility.
Director of Public Works Dar Baas.
“The waste-energy facility is a phenomenal asset in Kent County. We operate well below, like 90% below our permit limits, right? We operate a really, really good facility. And what
Kent County officials are trying to do here is to modernize and take our next steps with that facility.”
The system under construction uses AI computer vision and pneumatic sorting to extract cardboard and select plastics from municipal solid waste which enhances the thermal efficiency of remaining waste.
“The plant can process today about 200,000 tons of material, that's what we combust. We generate electricity, we make steam. But we want to be able to handle up to 400,000 tons in the future as Grand Rapids and the West Michigan/Kent County community grows.”
Baas notes that Kent County will be the first in the nation to implement an AI-based extraction system at a waste energy facility, as a fast, scalable way to modernize it without a complete overhaul.
“Amp is stepping up and they're providing a lot of the equipment and the operation at no cost so that we can learn with them what it takes to operate these facilities.”
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