Agromin wins composting contract in California

The contract allows Agromin to operate a Merced composting site that is permitted to accept up to 25,000 tons of organics each year. | Jacob Boomsma/Shutterstock

Composting company Agromin has signed a contract to run a California county’s composting site, with plans for a major capacity expansion.

The Merced County Board of Supervisors in April approved Agromin to operate and expand the Merced Highway 59 landfill composting operation. The company began operations July 1. The site is currently processed yard debris, with plans to expand to food scraps, according to a press release.

The site is currently permitted to accept up to 25,000 tons of organics annually. Agromin plans to add an additional composting facility there to boost capacity to 100,000 tons per year.

The plans come as local governments across California work to meet state mandates to provide organics collection and processing service for households and to purchase a certain amount of compost products for municipal use. The shift is driven by Senate Bill 1383, which was signed into law in 2016 and requires a 75% reduction in organic waste sent to landfills by 2025 (from 2014 levels).

The CEO of Agromin wrote for Resource Recycling in December about remaining roadblocks to the widespread access to composting capacity around the state.

Delays in Los Angeles’ implementation of the organics recycling mandates contributed to a California-based subsidiary of anaerobic digester company Anaergia filing for bankruptcy. Financial struggles at the Los Angeles-area Rialto Bioenergy Facility are contributing to concerns about Anaergia’s financial health.