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Waste Management, Inc. has acquired a majority equity interest
in Garick LLC, a manufacturer, and distributor of organic lawn and
garden products. Waste Management says that this move will allow it to
accelerate the expansion of its organics recycling services and develop
value added organic products.
Garick's operations will add commercial and consumer organic products
to Waste Management's organics recycling business, as well as over 1
million tons of processing capacity. In addition, it is thought the
move could lead to the development of composting and bagging facilities
at Waste Management facilities throughout North America.
In the United States, approximately one third of municipal solid waste
is organic, including food, yard and wood waste. Approximately 65% of
yard waste and 2.5% of food waste collected in the United States is
currently diverted from disposal.
Waste Management say this expansion of organic recycling services and
products will be beneficial to residential, commercial and industrial
customers seeking to convert their organic wastes into products such as
compost, mulch and organic soil amendment.
The market for composting services is
growing as consumers are increasingly demanding alternatives to
conventional fertilizers for lawn and garden care, and businesses and
municipalities are seeking to increase the recycling of organic
materials for beneficial use. Organic compost is considered a part of
the green retail market, which has been growing at 20%
annually.
"We want to extract the highest value possible from the materials we
manage. Recycling organics through composting and other technologies
that may produce energy, transportation fuels or specialty chemicals
enables us to generate more value from this specific material stream,"
said Tim Cesarek, managing director of Organic Growth at Waste
Management.
"Combining Waste Management's leadership and expertise in the
collection and management of organic feedstocks with Garick's
resources, knowledge and experience in yard and food waste composting
and retail product sales will be key to developing new, high
value-added end markets for organic materials and accelerating
the growth of organics recycling across North America," added Cesarek.
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