SOUTHINGTON, CT — A Southington organics recycling facility is slated for a multimillion-dollar expansion aimed at increasing its ability to process food waste and turn discarded materials into renewable energy and products such as compost, soil and mulch.
The Connecticut Green Bank announced Aug. 27 that it closed on $5.05 million in financing for Circular Services to continue developing its Southington campus at 49 DePaolo Drive, formerly known as Quantum Biopower.
The investment will fund equipment and infrastructure intended to increase the facility's food and green waste processing capabilities.
Among the improvements are equipment designed to recover organic fertilizer from the facility's anaerobic digestion process and a fully automated bagging operation for finished compost, soil, and mulch products.
The project will also add de-packaging equipment, allowing the facility to process more packaged food waste that might otherwise be disposed of.
"As Connecticut continues to address the environmental, economic, and infrastructure challenges associated with organic waste, the partnership underscores the catalytic role that flexible financing can play in moving proven facilities from food waste to energy to expanded, commercially durable resource recovery infrastructure," Connecticut Green Bank President and CEO Bryan Garcia said in a statement.
The financing continues a relationship between the Green Bank and the Southington operation that began about a decade ago.
In 2016, the Green Bank provided a $2 million subordinated loan to support development of what was then Quantum Biopower, described by the Green Bank as Connecticut's first anaerobic digester facility.
The operation uses organic waste to produce renewable energy.
Today, the Southington campus includes an anaerobic digester capable of processing about 40,000 tons annually and generating approximately 1.2 megawatts of renewable energy, according to the Green Bank.
That is enough electricity to power more than 800 homes and several Southington facilities, including the town's fire station, wastewater treatment facility and municipal buildings, the Green Bank said.
The broader Southington site is permitted to handle more than 100,000 tons annually.
Circular Services Vice President of Organics Brian Paganini said the latest investment will allow the company to expand as demand for organics processing grows in Connecticut.
"Building on our existing partnership, the Connecticut Green Bank has once again provided exactly the kind of catalytic investment that turns ambition into action — enabling us to expand our capacity and capabilities to meet the growing needs of the State," Paganini said.
The company has identified Southington as a flagship location for its organics operations, serving commercial, municipal and residential food-waste generators in Connecticut and the surrounding region.
The expansion is intended to increase the amount of organic material that can be diverted from traditional waste disposal while recovering more usable materials from the process.
The improvements are expected to help convert food and other organic waste into renewable power, recovered nutrients and commercial soil products.
"Organic waste management solutions are such a highly leveraged way to cut emissions and build a more circular economy," said Leigh Whelpton, the Green Bank's director of environmental infrastructure programs.
Whelpton said the financing will increase processing and waste-diversion capacity while supporting nutrient recovery and wastewater benefits.
Circular Services operates 38 recycling and composting operations across the United States, according to the company. The Connecticut Green Bank was established by the General Assembly in 2011 to increase investment in the state's green economy. The organization said it has mobilized nearly $3.3 billion in investment in Connecticut since its creation.
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