MassDEP awards $500,000 in grant money to three companies

Funding targets companies who can help manage packaged food material.

November 9, 2016
REW Staff
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The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, through its Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP), has awarded $500,000 in grant money to three Massachusetts companies under its Recycling Business Development Grant program (RBDG). The grant money has been designed to assist companies in processing and managing packaged food material.

"Earlier this year, MassDEP was selected to receive an Environmental Merit Award from EPA New England for the Commonwealth's work to reduce food waste," says Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito. "Our commitment to reducing the disposal of unwanted food has been reinforced with this round of grant funding. We are building our infrastructure to better manage organics and, in the process, protecting our environment, creating greener energy and supporting economic growth."

The RBDG program, which targets difficult-to-recycle materials such as glass, mattresses and packaged food, is funded through the sale of waste-to-energy credits. This round of grants has funded projects that promote the recovery of packaged food with processes that maximize the use of both the packaging and the food material. As a condition of receiving funding, grant recipients commit to meeting tonnage goals over a two-year period.

"These businesses exemplify the innovative Massachusetts business environment, and are making a positive impact on our environment," says Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Matthew Beaton. "Investments like this not only support the growth of viable Massachusetts businesses, but also help us reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and protect the environment for future generations."

The grant recipients are the following:

  • CRMC Bioenergy LLC, Mansfield, up to $200,000. The company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CommonWealth Resource Management Corp., owns and operates the existing CRMC Bioenergy facility at a Dartmouth landfill. CRMC is seeking funding to add the ability to source and accept bulk materials in the quantities required to support the planned expansion of their facility, an operating pilot-scale anaerobic digestion project. The grant will be used to purchase de-packaging equipment that will enable the facility to accept and process packaged bulk organics or have some contamination into a pump-able, slurried form for anaerobic digestion.
  • EL Harvey and Sons Inc., Westborough, up to $100,000. The company is seeking funding to purchase a tank to be used with de-packaging equipment. The grant will be used to purchase a vertical silo tank to be used with de-packaging equipment that will store processed organics in slurry form, which will feed anaerobic digestion. The process will divert about 10,000 tons per year of organics that are currently landfilled or incinerated.
  • Troiano Trucking Inc., North Grafton, up to $200,000. The company currently takes in about 25 tons of wasted food per day and transfers it to animal feed operations. Troiano is seeking grant funding to expand their business from trucking to manufacturing. The grant will be used, in part, to fund a Scott Turbo Separator that will enable the facility to accept and process bulk organics that are packaged or have some level of contamination and convert it into high-quality animal feed.