What Upland Road does

Upland Road is a New York-based business consulting and infrastructure firm founded in 2020 that designs and deploys integrated solid waste processing systems for municipalities, waste haulers, landfills, and corporations. The company's core technology is the patented SMART-UR™ Separation System, which processes municipal solid waste collected in a single bin and is positioned to recover and reuse approximately 90% of incoming material, eliminating the requirement for consumer-side separation. Output streams from the process are sold into existing supply chains or used as feedstock for finished products, many produced on site.

The company operationalizes this technology through what it calls SMART Centers™ (Sustainable Materials and Advanced Recovery Technology Centers) — integrated campuses that combine waste sorting infrastructure with material re-use operations. Per the company, one SMART Center is positioned to save approximately 1.25 million tons of CO2e and one million tons of methane per year, while keeping more than 650,000 tons of material out of landfill. Beyond waste processing, Upland Road also engages in workforce reskilling, raw material supply for corporate sustainability programs, and partnerships with emerging materials companies for innovation testing.

Upland Road's business model combines consulting/advising on waste infrastructure with the longer-term deployment of SMART Center campuses, generating revenue via managed-services-style processing operations and material sales into existing supply chains. The go-to-market is direct enterprise and municipal field sales, supplemented by an ecosystem of named industry partners (Bandwagon, Boundless, Sweep, Evtek, TealTech, LeoVera, GreenMaterials). Public financials are limited: the company has disclosed a single $975,000 funding round (October 2022), reports 1-10 employees, and does not disclose revenue, pricing, or named customers. The leadership team includes environmental legal, policy, and engineering principals, and the company received an innovation award at Cincinnati's 2023 Rethink Recycling Hack-a-thon.

Name

Upland Road

Legal name

Upland Road

Website

https://uplandroad.eco

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Upland Road is a New York-based consulting and infrastructure firm that deploys its patented SMART-UR™ Separation System and SMART Center™ campuses to process mixed municipal solid waste, serving municipalities, waste haulers, corporations, and communities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Waste Management Services

NAICS

Materials Recovery Facilities (562920), Materials Recovery Facilities (56292), Solid Waste Collection (562111)

SIC

Refuse Systems (4953), Sanitary Services (4950)

akta.pro primary industry

Solid Waste & Recycling Services Administration (BPAIACAH)

Keywords

• Waste management services
• Municipal solid waste
• Materials recovery facilities
• Sustainable infrastructure consulting
• Waste separation technology

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. SMART Center Operations: Revenue generated from processing solid waste through SMART Centers, which separate and process waste into discrete materials available for sale into existing supply chains or as feedstock for finished products. The environmental benefits include saving approximately 1.25 million tons CO2e and one million tons methane per year while keeping more than 650,000 tons of material from landfill per center.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Upland Road advises municipalities, civic leaders, waste haulers, and corporations on transforming solid waste infrastructure. The company's patented SMART-UR™ Separation System processes municipal solid waste collected in a single bin and recovers approximately 90% of materials as discrete, like-new outputs for sale into supply chains or as feedstock for finished products. The integrated SMART Center™ facilities deploy this technology at campus scale to convert the entire waste stream into economic and environmental value.

Product overview

Upland Road offers a single unified product system consisting of the SMART-UR™ Separation System and SMART Center™ facilities. The SMART-UR™ Separation System is the patented core technology that processes municipal solid waste, while the SMART Center™ represents the integrated facility campus where this technology is deployed. Together, they enable comprehensive waste processing that recovers approximately 90% of materials from a single mixed waste stream, eliminating the burden of consumer separation and transforming waste into an economic resource.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SMART-UR™ Separation System: Patented technology that allows recovery and reuse of approximately 90% of all municipal solid waste collected in a single bin.
• SMART Centers™

Products and services

• SMART-UR™ Separation System A patented separation and processing system that allows recovery and reuse of approximately 90% of all municipal solid waste collected in a single bin, converting mixed waste into discrete, like-new materials for sale into existing supply chains or as feedstock for finished products. Sold to municipalities, waste haulers, and corporations seeking to modernize waste infrastructure.
• SMART Centers™ Sustainable Materials and Advanced Recovery Technology Centers that provide sophisticated waste sorting infrastructure and material re-use capabilities on an integrated campus, delivering approximately 1.25 million tons CO2e savings and one million tons methane prevention per year while diverting 650,000 tons of material from landfill. Delivered to municipalities, waste haulers, landfill operators, and corporate partners.

Quantifiable outcome

• One SMART Center saves approximately 1.25 million tons of CO2e per year
• +3 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• BandwagoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBandwagon is listed as one of Upland Road's industry partners for planning, executing, and implementing environmentally-transformative projects.
• BoundlesscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBoundless is listed as one of Upland Road's industry partners for planning, executing, and implementing environmentally-transformative projects.
• SweepcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSweep is listed as one of Upland Road's industry partners for planning, executing, and implementing environmentally-transformative projects.
• EvtekcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEvtek is listed as one of Upland Road's industry partners for planning, executing, and implementing environmentally-transformative projects.
• TealTechcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTealTech is listed as one of Upland Road's industry partners for planning, executing, and implementing environmentally-transformative projects.
• LeoVeracoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeoVera is listed as one of Upland Road's industry partners for planning, executing, and implementing environmentally-transformative projects.
• GreenMaterialscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGreenMaterials is listed as one of Upland Road's industry partners for planning, executing, and implementing environmentally-transformative projects.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Waste Management, Inc. Largest North American solid waste and recycling services company, operating collection, transfer, recycling, and disposal assets nationwide. Upland Road targets the same municipal and corporate customers with a single-bin recovery alternative to WM's traditional MRF-plus-landfill model.
• Suez Recycling and Recovery: Global environmental services and recycling operator with material recovery facilities and municipal contracts. Comparable as a full-stack municipal recycling and materials-recovery incumbent.
• Tomra: Global leader in sensor-based sorting technology for recycling and waste streams. Comparable to Upland Road as a technology provider enabling high-recovery sorting, though focused on equipment sales vs. Upland Road's full campus model.
• Stericycle: Specialized waste services provider focused on regulated and compliance-driven waste streams. Less directly comparable but operates in adjacent regulated-waste infrastructure with municipal and enterprise customers.
• Republic Services: Second-largest U.S. solid waste and recycling company with integrated collection and processing operations. Competes with Upland Road for municipal recycling contracts and corporate sustainability-driven feedstock supply opportunities.

Emerging players

• Rubicon Technologies: Technology-enabled waste and recycling marketplace and services provider. Comparable to Upland Road as a software- and infrastructure-driven disruptor targeting municipal and enterprise waste customers.
• AMP Robotics: Applies AI and robotics to sorting in materials recovery facilities. Closest emerging competitor to Upland Road's SMART-UR™ system, targeting the same problem of automating mixed-waste recovery within existing MRF infrastructure.

Direct peers

• Bulk Handling Systems (BHS): Designs and manufactures sorting systems and MRF equipment for mixed solid waste recovery. Directly comparable to SMART-UR™ as a recovery-technology supplier to municipal and private MRF operators.
• Machinex: Canadian provider of recycling and waste sorting systems, including MRF design and equipment. Direct comparable in the recovery-technology category serving municipal and commercial waste streams.

Regional players

• Recology: Employee-owned waste and recycling company serving primarily West Coast U.S. municipalities with integrated collection, MRF, and composting operations. Comparable in municipal-focused, integrated recycling model, though regional rather than national.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Upland Road