Agri-Cycle expands footprint in Vermont through new hires, additional scrap programs

Agri-Cycle (ACE), Scarborough, Maine, has announced its expanded food scrap hauling services and partnerships in Vermont.

ACE currently provides food scrap recycling for a number of Vermont businesses, including 17 Hannaford stores, and is now available to provide services for other Vermont businesses, institutions, and multi-family residential units. In addition, ACE’s Vermont operations include plans to manage the compost site located at the Greater Upper Valley Solid Waste District’s Organics Recycling Facility in North Hartland, Vermont.

“I’m excited about our district’s new partnership with Agri-Cycle, as the operator of our compost facility and organics transfer station in North Hartland, Vermont” said Tom Kennedy, manager of the Greater Upper Valley Solid Waste Management District. “As the new operator of both facilities, Agri-Cycle will be able manage liquids, packaged and non-packaged food waste. These materials will be processed to either create soil at our compost facility, or to create electricity through anaerobic digestion, making the facility in North Hartland the first fully integrated organic facility in Vermont.”

Agri-Cycle launched operations in 2013, partnering to support sister company Exeter Agri-Energy (EAE), an offshoot of Stonyvale Farm, a 5th generation dairy farm in Exeter, Maine.

ACE operates throughout New England and works with digesters throughout the region, including the new digester at Goodrich Farm in Salisbury, Vermont. ACE powers about 2,500 homes annually throughout its service region and grows thousands of acres of organic fertilizer (digestate), a product from the anaerobic digestion process.

ACE’s customers work closely with food banks and food pantries to redistribute as much usable food as possible before converting the remainder to renewable energy, animal bedding, and fertilizer.

Hannaford’s Brand Lead Health and Sustainability Director, George Parmenter notes “Agri-Cycle has been an instrumental partner in Hannaford achieving zero food waste to landfill in Vermont and across our footprint. Having a partner whose sole focus is food waste has been crucial to helping us accomplishing this sustainability goal. Agri-Cycle truly focuses on highest use, educating our associates, and keeping things local.”

ACE added five employees to its Vermont sales team, all are former employees of Grow Compost of Vermont, a Vermont compost and food scrap hauling business that was sold in September. Over the past two years, ACE had partnered with Grow Compost to provide food scrap service for its Vermont customers. When Grow Compost was purchased on September 1st, employees: Brent Lehouiller, Vermont operations manager; Carolyn Grodinsky, Vermont sales and marketing; and food scrap drivers Craig Streeter, Jason Hunt, and Jesse Boemig joined the ACE team.