Recycling in Decatur could see a major transformation as the city council votes on new equipment that supporters say would double the facility’s annual output. Council members voted on purchasing a new baler and approving funding for an artificial intelligence sorting system for the city’s recycling facility. The votes come as recycling collection remains suspended following the failure of the facility’s existing baler, which compresses recyclable materials into bales for shipping and sale.
City Council President Kyle Pike said the AI system is central to the upgrade. “The AI sorter is going to increase our efficiency, so we’ll need a second baler to keep up with the increase in efficiency of the recycling process,” Pike said. “Right now we’re doing about 3,600 tons annually. This will double that.”
The AI sorting system uses advanced technology to identify and separate recyclable materials at high speed. It would cost roughly $740,000, to be paid through the Landfill Enterprise Fund. A second baler, needed to keep pace with the increased sorting capacity, would cost approximately $115,000.