Convertus acquires Virginia composting facility

The Convertus Group, an Ontario-based organics collection and processing management firm, has acquired the Freestate Farms composting facility in Manassas, Virginia.

The facility was built and operated through a public-private partnership with Prince William County, Virginia. The Manassas site also is Convertus Group's first composting facility in the United States.

"We are thrilled to expand our footprint in the U.S. with the acquisition of the Manassas-based composting facility,” Convertus CEO Michael Leopold says. “We look forward to leveraging our expertise and resources to drive positive change and contribute to Prince William County’s environmental sustainability goals.”

Freestate Farms is situated in the second most populated county in Virginia and is linked to a 20-year contract securing exclusive rights to yard waste, coupled with the recent implementation of a yard waste diversion mandate in the county.

The previous owners invested in the Manassas site in 2020, paying for capacity expansion and the installation of advanced aerated static pile technology.

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“These enhancements not only optimized the control of airflow to efficiently compost material, but also substantially decreased the processing time,” Convertus says.

The facility is capable of processing 80,000 to 100,000 tons per year of discarded organics and can produce compost, mulch and soil amendment products available in bulk.

“These high-quality products contribute to enriching soil health, elevating nutrient levels and increasing crop yields,” the company says regarding its end markets in the agriculture sector.

The new site raises the Convertus portfolio to 14 operational facilities in North America, with another two facilities in the construction phase. While the Manassas site is the first Convertus compost production facility in the U.S., it also has a bagging and warehouse facility in Unity, Maine.

With its latest acquisition, Convertus says it is on track to process more than 600,000 tons per year of organic material as it moves toward a goal of processing more than 1 million tons annually.