Agromin receives $10M grant from CalRecycle

Oxnard, California-based compost maker Agromin has received a $10 million grant from the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) to convert food scraps and yard waste collected by communities into compost.

The funds from CalRecycle’s Organics Grant Program are part of a statewide effort to expand and build new organic recycling facilities, allowing more waste to be recycled instead of ending up in landfills where it emits greenhouse gases.

“The grant funds will help Agromin move forward on expanding our composting facility at Limoneira Ranch in Santa Paula, [California],” Agromin CEO Bill Camarillo says.

“We’re currently processing over 1 million tons of organic waste a year. Once the expansion is complete, we’ll be able to boost that amount [by] almost 300,000 [tons].”

The Agromins site in Santa Paula sits on 15 acres and currently accepts only yard waste. Plans are for it to expand to 70 acres and receive food scraps as well.

Funding and policy prodding to increase organics diversion and the production of compost and other products made from diverted organics has grown with the enactment of California Senate Bill 1383.

That bill requires the amount of green waste sent to landfills to be reduced by 75 percent by 2025 from 2014 levels. Jurisdictions are required to obtain recycled organic products (such as compost and mulch) made from collected green waste, under the law. “These materials can then be used in public areas and by farmers, landscapers and residents,” Agromin says.

“Agromin is working with jurisdictions around the state to help them comply with SB 1383 procurement requirements,” Camarillo says. “With our expanded operations, jurisdictions will be well positioned to meet their procurement goals by working with Agromin and our CaliforniaCompost.net platform.”