Co-founder and CEO of SusGlobal Energy, Gerry Hamaliuk, stands in front of the finished compost at the former Astoria Organics property on the Phillipston Road in Belleville’s Thurlow ward.(Photo: John Spitters / Quinte News)
The signs are still up, but they will not be for long.
State of the art organics processing facility, Astoria Organics, is under new ownership.
The compost producer, which started production on Phillipston Road in Thurlow ward in September of last year, has been in receivership because of financial problems since April, and late last week the sale of Astoria Organics assets was finalized. The facility remained in operation while in receivership.
The buyer and new operator is a startup public company, SusGlobal Energy.
SusGlobal Energy purchased the assets for $4.1 million cash and also involved over 500,000 restricted common shares. The price of a share was set at USD $5.
Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of SusGlobal, Gerry Hamaliuk, told Quinte News that
Astoria Organics, although licensed to produce 70,000 tonnes of compost a year from organics and dry , natural construction material, was operating at less than half that total.
However, Mr. Hamaliuk and associates have plans to turn the operation around soon with changes and expansion. CEO Hamaliuk has over 20 years experience developing, owning and operating greenhouse gas reduction projects in various countries worldwide.
Compost buildings.(Photo: John Spitters / Quinte News)
In the near future, a skid-loaded machine worth close to $1 million will be brought to the location, which will take industrial, commercial, and institutional organic waste and produce a slurry for sale to any farm, municipal wastewater system, or other business with an anaerobic digester, to create renewable energy in the form of biogas.
This investment will lead to lower greenhouse gas emissions and lower levels of methane gas in the atmosphere by diverting organics away from traditional landfill sites.
Mr. Hamaliuk says SusGlobal Energy will also produce a high quality fertilizer for addition to composting facilities.
The future is bright for this kind of business, according to the CEO, as Ontario is expected to follow Quebec’s lead in a total ban on organics being put in landfills in the years ahead.
Quebec’s ban takes effect in 2020.
It’s hoped SusGlobal Energy will eventually operate 8 organics facilities in Ontario.
In the immediate future, SusGlobal plans on setting up green bin programs with smaller landfills throughout the wider region, and the company plans on bidding to process the organic waste coming from Belleville and Quinte West.
The contract for the job of collecting food and other organic waste with GFL Environmental in those cities ends in July of next year.
At present, GFL trucks the material to Moose Creek, almost an hour’s drive east of Ottawa.
CEO Hamaliuk believes his company’s bid on the Belleville/Quinte West work should be very competitive, considering transportation costs will be dramatically lower.
The company will also work with American firm Organics Conversion Group to test an odor reduction product, which, if successful, will cut energy costs significantly in the traditional compost production areas of the facility.
Also coming soon, a separate transfer station, which is licensed for 50,000 tonnes.
All in all, SusGlobal will spend 3 to 4 million dollars at the rural Belleville location, and the number of employees could go from the current 8 to 14.
SusGlobal Energy will have its own signs up on the property very soon.
High quality compost fertilizer is available at 704 Phillipston Road. The phone number is 613-477-2424.
Here you will find general and investor information on SusGlobal Energy.
