Vanguard Renewables announces opening of Organics Recycling Facility

Vanguard Renewables, a Wellesley, Massachusetts-based organics to renewable energy company, has announced the opening of its Organics Recycling Facility.

The advanced facility in Agawam, Massachusetts will de-package and process expired goods, off-spec batches or unsafe to eat food and beverage products. The extracted food is transported to one of Vanguard Renewables' Massachusetts Farm Powered anaerobic digesters, combined with farm waste, and converted into renewable energy. In 2021, Vanguard Renewables expects to process nearly 500,000 tons of organic waste into renewable energy at its six farm-based anaerobic digesters; five of which are in Massachusetts.

“We are excited to welcome Vanguard Renewables to our business community, and particularly appreciate that it is a green business; recapturing food waste that would have been sent to a landfill is such an amazing concept and we’re proud to have it here in Agawam ” said Agawam Mayor William Sapelli.

“We’re thrilled to bring this state of the art organics recycling facility to Western Massachusetts to recycle food waste that otherwise would have gone to a landfill or incineration” said John Hanselman, chairman and CEO of Vanguard Renewables. “The reception of Agawam town officials and the local community has been exceptional, and we are truly grateful.”

Vanguard Renewables recently received the 2020 Energy Vision Leadership Award and was named 2018 Organics Recycler of the Year by the National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA). Vanguard Renewables has also won the 2019 American Biogas Council Up-and-Coming Project Award for its AD facility in Salisbury, Vermont, and the 2019 American Biogas Council Longevity Award for its Rutland, Massachusetts anaerobic digestion (AD) facility. Vanguard’s Hadley, Massachusetts, digester project won 2016 ABC Project of the Year honors.