Reclamation Factory partnered with the City of Pittsburgh through PGH Lab 10.0 to pilot a plastic waste identification and tracing platform. Discover how machine learning, big data, and local partnerships are shaping the future of plastics recycling.

Every year, more than 350 million tons of plastic are produced worldwide — and most of it doesn’t get recycled. One of the biggest hurdles? Sorting. Different plastics have different properties, and to recycle them effectively, they need to be separated by resin type, shape, and color.

At Reclamation Factory, we asked a simple question:

Could we teach a machine to see what a human sorter sees — and do it faster, more accurately, and at scale?

Tanisha shares her experience building, analyzing, and managing big datasets as an intern with Reclamation Factory, and how she uses that data to build tools for sorting plastic waste into traceable recycling streams.

Recycling only works when people trust the system. Traceability and certifications turn good intentions into credible action.

We’re thrilled to share that we’ve been featured by the Pittsburgh Robotics Network in their latest video spotlight! The feature highlights our work and contributions to Pittsburgh’s thriving robotics ecosystem.

Being recognized by such an influential organization is an honor, and it reinforces our commitment to advancing robotics technology right here in Pittsburgh.

It’s no secret that plastic waste is a massive problem in the United States. Each year, we generate over 40 million tons of plastic waste—yet, according to a 2022 Greenpeace report, less than 6% of it is ever recycled into something new. Meanwhile, the demand for post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic is skyrocketing, with forecasts predicting it will double by 2032. If the demand exists, why aren’t we recycling more?
Originally written for and published on RoCo.global

Reclamation Factory takes 4th place in the 2025 Duqesne New Venture Challenge

It’s a bittersweet farewell to our cohort as we wrap up the Innovation Works’ Robotics Factory Accelerate program.

This summer we had the pleasure of welcoming two interns onto the Reclamation Factory team!

Reclamation Factory is honored to be joining the next Robotics Factory cohort.

Saying farewell to the Ascender 2023-2024 Incubation cohort!

Bringing simple molds to the next level.

All this plastic is going to be here for a while…