Fresno recycling facility adds AI robots, expands capacity with $4.5M state grant
Mid Valley Disposal has planned a ribbon cutting ceremony later this month to mark the completion of upgrades to its Fresno material recovery facility, including the installation of artificial intelliegence-powered robots funded in part by a $4.6 million state grant.
The ceremony is scheduled May 28 at the Mid Valley Disposal facility at 2721 S. Elm Ave., Fresno.
Mid-Valley Recycling, a subsidiary of Mid Valley Disposal, was awarded nearly $4.6 million from CalRecycle’s Beverage Container Quality Infrastructure Grant Program in March. The grant was one of nine awarded statewide from a pool of $46 million distributed across eight counties. CalRecycle received 37 applications requesting a total of $207 million, according to a news release.
The total project cost exceeded $12 million, according to the release.
“For more than a year now, we’ve been working on improving our commercial processing facility,” said Joseph Kalpakoff, president and CEO of Mid Valley Disposal. “This grant supports our own investment in making key improvements to our operational infrastructure and install cutting-edge technology. We feel very blessed to have been selected.”
The upgrades included six AI-powered robots and a new commercial sort line. The robots use vision technology to identify and sort materials such as aluminum cans and plastic beverage containers, according to the release. Each robot can sort an average of 25 items per minute. Combined, the system is capable of recovering an estimated 18.7 million containers per year.
The facility, which opened in 2002, processed more than 130,000 tons of material in 2025, according to the release. The upgraded system increases processing capacity by approximately 60%, adding the ability to process more than 52,000 tons per year.
“The MRF opened in 2002,” said Abel Salazar Jr., manager of post-collections at Mid Valley Disposal, “and over the years we’ve tracked the increase in volume processed at this facility. This grant will help us upgrade our sort lines and the technology we’ve recently installed will help us reduce items that are sent to the landfill.”
Mid Valley Recycling partnered with San Francisco-based company Glacier to deploy the robots. Glacier’s systems also provide real-time data to monitor plant efficiency, according to the release.
“As fellow Californians, we are proud to support Mid-Valley Recycling in setting a new standard for recycling in central California,” said Rebecca Hu-Thrams, CEO and founder of Glacier. “This partnership is a great example of how thoughtful public-private collaboration can rapidly advance sustainability innovation across our state.”
The upgrades also added about a dozen new sorting positions, along with jobs in maintenance and technology roles, according to the release.
https://thebusinessjournal.com/fresno-recycling-facility-ai-robots-calrecycle-grant/