JOHNSTON – Converted Organics Inc. (Nasdaq: COIN) of Boston today announced it will build a food-waste recycling facility in Johnston, on land leased from the R.I. Resource Recovery Corporation. Financial details were not immediately available.
The lease is the second in as many years for the Boston-based company, which is currently building its first waste-to-fertilizer plant on a site in Woodbridge, N.J. The plant in Johnston is expected to open next year.
“The option to lease the Rhode Island property for development of Converted Organics’ second facility represents a significant milestone for our company,” Edward J. Gildea, the company’s president, chairman and CEO, said in a statement this morning.
The 40,000-square-foot facility – adjacent to the state Central Landfill – will convert food and other organic materials into liquid and solid fertilizer. At full capacity, it will process up to 200 tons per day of food and other organic waste, or as much as 60,000 tons per year.
By accepting 10 to 15 percent of the material that would otherwise have been deposited in the landfill, the waste-to-fertilizer plant is expected to extend the lifespan of the state’s only municipal landfill, reduce the landfill’s greenhouse gas emissions and boost the state’s overall recycling rate, Converted Organics said. It also will “bring multiple jobs to the Johnston community,” Gildea said.
“This facility represents an important partnership between Converted Organics and RIRRC, and is the first of several municipal development projects our company has underway,” Gildea said, adding: “Converted Organics is now exceptionally well-positioned at the crossroads of three significant global economic trends: the explosive growth in organic farming; the critical need for sustainable solid-waste recycling solutions; and the overwhelming demand for green technology investment opportunities.”
The R.I. Resource Recovery Corporation, manager of the state Central Landfill in Johnston, was created by the R.I. General Assembly in 1974 to provide environmentally sound programs and facilities for managing solid waste generated in Rhode Island. Additional information is available at www.rirrc.org.
Converted Organics Inc. (Nasdaq: COIN) is a development-stage company dedicated to producing environmentally-friendly soil amendments or fertilizers – for the retail, turf and agribusiness markets – through the recycling of food waste. Additional information is available at www.convertedorganics.com.
