Dennis Bagley, Executive Director, SPSA on Government Contracts, Underwriting Tech Risk & Fee Structures.

Public waste authorities are increasingly looking for ways to recover more material, extend landfill life, improve long-term economics, and modernize processing infrastructure. In its 2024 assessment, the EPA estimated that the US needs $36-43bn of investment to modernize recycling infrastructure by 2030. The report notes that this modernization could include advanced technologies such as optical sorters and robotic arms as part of higher-end facility upgrades. SPSA’s work with AMP is an early example of what that modernization can look like in practice. SPSA Waste Solutions is a regional public authority serving communities in southeastern Virginia and responsible for managing municipal solid waste and long-term disposal infrastructure. AMP is a waste-technology company using AI, robotics, and automated sortation systems to reduce labor costs, increase resource recovery, and deliver more reliable operations. In November 2025, SPSA signed a 20-year agreement with AMP to scale automated waste processing across the region, with the project designed to reach 540,000 tons of annual processing capacity by 2029 and divert 50% of waste from landfill. In our conversation with Dennis Bagley, Executive Director, SPSA, we focus on what industrial automation founders can learn from that process: how to work with government customers, build trust, structure fee and incentives, move from pilot to long-term deployment, and how a public service authority underwrites risk. This episode is part of our Humans Who Build x Robots for America series, where we speak with robotics companies and their customers about what it takes to move industrial automation beyond pilots and into scaled deployment. #wastemanagement #public #virginia #publicprivatepartnerships