Roadrunner Acquires Compology Enhancing Recycling Management Systems

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In an effort to modernize the waste and recycling industry through data, artificial intelligence, and ESG reporting, as well as to increase recycling capabilities for businesses, RoadRunner Recycling has acquired Compology.

San Francisco-based Compology provides waste and recycling metering technology operated by artificial intelligence and smart cameras. RoadRunner says the platform will help it create an advanced and sustainable waste management system for businesses and governments looking to increase recycling rates, report on environmental impacts, and reduce costs.

RoadRunner says Compology has more than 150 million data points with its current system, and by integrating that into RoadRunner’s waste management platform it will continue to help businesses lower carbon emissions and improve recycling. The company says its technology-enabled recycling platforms have increased its users’ recycling rates by more than 10 times on average.

“The future of sustainable waste and recycling management requires smart technology and intelligence,” says Graham Rihn, founder and CEO of RoadRunner Recycling.

RoadRunner says recycling for businesses in the United States is complicated, time-consuming, and lacks transparency and accurate data. Zero waste initiatives, ESG disclosures, the need to reduce carbon emissions, and pressure from investors and consumers means companies need dependable and smart waste and recycling systems, the company says.

The worldwide waste management market in 2022 is valued at $993.4 billion, according to Precedence Research. That analysis shows the United States is the only industrialized country where municipal solid waste outpaces recycling. According to the EPA, around 32% of municipal solid waste in the country is recycled or composted.

Those types of numbers have recently led to an increased focus on recycling initiatives, including other acquisitions and financing rounds. Waste Management acquired a controlling interest in Avangard Innovative’s United State business to grow its recycling business, and EverestLabs raised a $16.1 million round of funding to enhance its artificial intelligence recycling management system. That platform is designed to help recycling centers sort waste and improve the rate of capturing recyclable materials.

Houston added a digital platform from Rubicon Technologies this year to help it improve its programs, a system that is used in more than 80 US cities. The city plans to use the system to completely digitalize its waste and recycling system. Additionally, The Recycling Partnership also said earlier in 2022 that it has invested more than $23 million in recycling facilities and diverted 770 million pounds of waste from landfills over the past decade.

RoadRunner provides services for thousands of commercial customers across 20 industries in the United States, according to the company. Compology’s platforms are used by Fortune 500 companies, property management firms, waste hauling companies, waste brokers and services providers, cities, and universities.

The Compology acquisition follows RoadRunner’s $70 million round of Series D funding that closed in January 2022. BeyondNetZero, the climate investing venture of General Atlantic, led the round to bring RoadRunner’s total funding to $129.5 million. Terms of the Compology deal were not disclosed.