BioHiTech Global takes stake in MBT operation

BioHiTech Global Inc.,  Chestnut Ridge, New York, has acquired a 17.2 percent equity interest in Entsorga West Virginia LLC, a company that is building what BioHiTech says it the nation's first resource recovery facility using a Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) technology for disposing and recycling of mixed municipal solid waste.

In addition to acquiring the 17 percent stake, BioHiTech has an option to acquire an additional 22.8 percent of the company for about $1.4 million.

In a release, BioHiTech notes that through its interest in Apple Valley Waste Conversions, it also has acquired the exclusive development rights for the technology in 11 states in the northeastern United States and the District of Columbia.

The Entsorga West Virginia LLC waste-to-solid fuel plant uses a patented process developed by Entsorgafin S.p.A., an Italian engineering firm. The facility is currently under construction in Martinsburg, West Virginia, and is expected to begin commissioning by the end of this year. Once complete, the facility will receive municipal solid waste through a 10-year contract with a regional waste hauler, 40-50 percent of which will be converted into a clean burning EPA-approved alternative fuel through the patented MBT process.

The facility also signed a ten-year contract for the sale of the solid recovered fuel (SRF) with a privately held West Virginia company that intends to use the SRF as an approved supplement to produce cement. With about 80 percent of the incoming waste being diverted from landfills, the company estimates the reduction in landfill waste disposal will result in a greenhouse gas emission reduction of 28,000 tons per year of carbon dioxide.

"We continue to focus on the application of proven, cost-effective and disruptive technologies to traditional waste management," says Frank Celli, CEO of BioHiTech Global. "As more and more companies target zero waste initiatives and state governments continue to implement regulation to foster more environmental responsibility, we are driving cost effective solutions into the marketplace.  Our goal is to make doing the right thing also a smart business decision.”

Unlike other clean tech solutions, Cell continues, “Entsorga's technology does not require government subsidies or additional premiums for waste disposal. We expect this facility to have a positive impact on our financials beginning in 2018, and plan to use it as a showcase to demonstrate to businesses and municipalities that there is an economically feasible clean alternative for organic and inorganic waste disposal. With this facility commencing operations later this year and with the development rights for this technology in other states, we are poised to enter into a new phase of growth at BioHiTech to build lasting value for our stockholders for years to come."