Closed Loop Partners acquires organic waste management company

Closed Loop Partners, New York, has acquired Agri-Cycle, a Portland, Maine-based provider of commercial and industrial organics collection. The acquisition was completed by Closed Loop Private Equity.

Founded in 2013, Agri-Cycle collects organic waste from more than 2,400 locations across 14 states and provides clients with education, collection, processing and disposal services, as well as data analytics and reporting to maximize landfill diversion. The company recycles organic waste via anaerobic digestion and composting and serves more than 850 commercial and industrial customers.

“Closed Loop Partners is proud to back Agri-Cycle and partner with their management team to accelerate their path to scale and drive meaningful impact for organics circularity in the U.S.,” says Jackson Pei, co-head at Closed Loop Private Equity. “Through this acquisition, we can together capture the significant market opportunity for food and organic waste diversion in the U.S.”

Agri-Cycle’s acquisition takes place as strong regulatory tailwinds, including landfill disposal bans and organics diversion mandates in states including Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts accelerate demand for organics collection. According to Closed Loop Partners, up to 40 percent of all food in the U.S. goes to landfill—equivalent to an estimated $340 billion in value—and is responsible for 58 percent of landfill methane emissions.

Following the acquisition, Agri-Cycle’s management team will partner with Closed Loop Partners to expand the company’s reach and services.

“The deep sector expertise and long tenured industry relationships of the Agri-Cycle team have laid a strong foundation for a platform positioned to scale both organically and through M&A,” says Daniel Phan, co-head at Closed Loop Private Equity.

Closed Loop Private Equity says its acquisition of Agri-Cycle marks a key milestone for Closed Loop Partners’ work to advance organics circularity, a key focus area for the firm alongside plastics and packaging, textiles and electronics. The firm’s broader work in organics includes platforms to support regenerative food production, innovations to extend food shelf life, technologies to mitigate post-consumer organic waste, compostable packaging field tests and composting and anaerobic digestion infrastructure.

“Our partnership with Closed Loop Partners marks the next phase of growth for Agri-Cycle Energy as we work with their team and ecosystem toward our shared goal of driving a circular economy for organics,” Agri-Cycle CEO Dan Bell says. “Agri-Cycle has provided services to keep thousands of tons of food in circulation over the last decade. As the organics waste challenge grows more urgent, we look to continue meeting market demand and work alongside Closed Loop Partners to accelerate impact at scale.”