Agromin Opens California Organic Recycling Facility

Agromin has opened an organics recycling facility in Chino, Calif., to turn green waste into organic compost.

Oxnard, Calif.-based Agromin is aiming to produce 50,000 tons of 100-percent organic compost annually at the location, according to a news release. The organics recycler plans to sell the compost to local growers and commercial landscapers.

The five-acre site receives green waste from residents and businesses in the California cities of Burbank, Corona, Eastvale, Norco, Riverside and Mira Loma. Agromin receives the material and then removes non-recyclable materials and spreads the green materials into windrows for composting.

Agromin is producing three products in Chino: Compost 100, ES-2 cover mulch and Garden Humus. Its Compost 100 is approved for use in U.S. Department of Agriculture-certified organic production and food processing and is Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI) listed. Agromin’s ES-2 mulch is for orchard applications and for use in public works locations and other landscape projects. It meets California Department of Transportation specifications. Garden Humus is designed for sandy soils aimed to add structure, nutrients and microbes to the soil to promote healthy plant growth.

“Residents who put their green waste into their recycling bins are enabling local farmers to grow organic, chemical-free produce,” says Bill Camarillo, Agromin CEO. “They are also helping cities to become more sustainable. Organic material that would have otherwise ended up in landfills emitting harmful gases will be transformed to become part of new residential and public landscaping.”

Agromin is the composter for more than 50 California cities, receiving monthly more than 30,000 tons of organic material to transform the material into soil products for farmers, landscapers and gardeners.

California has recently adopted laws for developing compost and anaerobic digestion. AB 1045 requires state entities to work together on the development and deployment of composting. The law is designed to cut down on red tape associated with compost production. AB 876 requires local governments to plan for the building of sufficient composting and anaerobic digestion infrastructure to process for a 15-year period in their jurisdictions.

Matt Cotton with Integrated Waste Management Consulting is one expert working with California organics processors to help them understand the state’s new regulations and legislation on the topic.

Meanwhile, cities across the country are continuing to look at organics collection. St. Paul, Minn., recently announced plans to expand and improve its recycling services in 2017, including the collection of food scraps and food-soiled paper.

And Highland Park will become one of the first cities in Illinois to offer curbside recycling of mixed organic waste when it rolls out its opt-in, three-bin system in April 2016. The affluent Chicago suburb of about 9,000 residences is teaming with Lakeshore Recycling Systems (LRS) to target food scraps during the yard waste season from April 1 to Dec. 15.