GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.— From the arts to manufacturing, robots are rolling out and that includes recycling. 

Kent County’s recycling facilities now include four new robots, three of which use artificial intelligence. They are used to help sort materials quickly and more efficiently. 

The robots were purchased as a part of a $406,000 grant from the state’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy. 

Along with the three AI robots, the department installed eddy current technology at the Recycling and Education Center. A magnetic separator removes metals like aluminum, copper and lead from other materials. 

The county said these robots are not replacing human jobs at the center, but they are making it safer for workers and improving efficiency. 

“With the price coming down on some of this technology, it’s allowing more and more facilities like this to install it,” Steve Faber, communications and marketing manager for Kent County Department of Public Works, said. “In the last 13 years, we’ve almost redone the entire processing plan with new technology as it comes. What it looks like in five, 10,15,20 years… it will only get better.”

You can see the robots in person at the Kent County Recycling and Education Center. It has open hours every Monday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.