In an endeavor to grapple with the environmental impact of waste, Amazon's Climate Pledge Fund has injected $7.7 million into Glacier, an artificial intelligence and robotics firm striving to reshape the recycling landscape. Coined as a significant stride in marrying technology with sustainability, this funding aims to bolster Glacier's mission in eradicating waste through automating recycling processes. According to a release on EndWaste, New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and other investors including AlleyCorp and Overture Climate VC joined the funding round.
Glacier, co-founded by Rebecca Hu and Areeb Malik, has become a trailblazer in using AI to increase the effectiveness of sorting recyclable materials. The start-up claims to prevent over 10 million items annually from languishing in landfills, said Hu in a statement obtained by About Amazon. The company has designed robots capable of identifying and sorting an array of over 30 different recyclable materials, including elusive items like grocery bags that typically slip through the cracks in traditional recycling.
Glacier’s innovative technology is not just aimed at sorting waste but is also gathering critical data to enhance recycling streams. The robots they've engineered are poised to serve as game-changers, particularly in cities like Detroit where Glacier secured a significant grant to deploy their units. As NEA partner Ann Bordetsky told EndWaste, the technology not only improves recycling efficiency but provides key insights into the sustainability practices of various companies.
With just 21% of residential recyclables actually being recycled in the U.S., according to Malik in an Amazon press release, Glacier's robots present a compelling solution to a pressing problem. In partnership with Glacier, Amazon is piloting a project to sort biomaterials, further reflecting their commitment to developing new recycling value chains. Nick Ellis, Principal of Amazon's Climate Pledge Fund, expressed excitement over this collaboration, reinforcing the objective to recycle and repurpose novel packaging materials.
The push by Amazon to support women in climate technology is also evident through its funding initiatives. As cited in Glacier's funding newsletter, Glacier is notably the second female CEO-led company to earn Amazon's backing under the $53 million Female Founder Initiative launched by the Climate Pledge Fund. "The diversity of Glacier's team is an invaluable asset as they work to solve a problem as complex as the climate crisis," remarked Phoebe Wang, Investment Partner at Amazon Climate Pledge Fund.
Amazon itself is no stranger to making strides in sustainability. The e-commerce giant's Ships in Product Packaging program that delivers items in manufacturer's packaging and the transition to automated U.S. fulfillment centers that eradicate plastic delivery packaging are among the initiatives reinforcing Amazon's vision. By teaming up with innovative firms like Glacier, Amazon is set on a course to reduce the excess waste that ends up polluting the environment.
