Dive Brief:
- Green technology company BioHiTech Global, Inc. has launched a clean technology subsidiary called Entsorga North America. The company will process waste using its HEBioT Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) system.
- Entsorga North America's first U.S. MBT facility is currently under construction in Martinsburg, WV. Entsorga partnered with regional collection company Apple Valley Waste Services and financed the site with a $25 million tax-exempt bond issued by the West Virginia Economic Development Authority.
- The MBT technology produces a recovered fuel which works well in cement kilns, steel mills and coal power plants. The Martinsburg plant will have capacity to produce 50,000 tons of recovered fuel per year.
Dive Insight:
The new Entsorga facility has been generating interest for its potential to help divert waste from landfills and reduce carbon emissions. Because the EPA categorizes this product as an "engineered fuel" it will not be subject to the agency's incinerator rule and can meet standards that other fuels cannot.
It may be new to North America, but Entsorga has been operating in Europe for more than 15 years. Europe has 300 MBT plants which process approximately 34 million tons of waste annually. Veolia is building a MBT facility outside Sydney, Australia which will have capacity for 200,000 metric tons per year. Another is under construction in Glasgow, Scotland.
While growing in popularity, the technology also has encountered skeptics. Some residents in northern Maine are opposing a plan by the company Fiberight to build its own MBT facility in their area.
