UMD Researcher Awarded $6M From DOE For Biofuels Stephanie Lansing, professor in the Department of En- vironmental Science and Technology at the University of Maryland (UMD), has been awarded two grants totaling $6 million from the U.S.Department of Energy (DOE) to devel- op sustainable products like biofuels and bioplastics from food waste. With these two grants from DOE, Lansing will lead a consortium of scientists and industry partners to not only research innovative ways to use waste, but also make val- ue-added products that will contribute to the sustainability of the economy and planet. Value-Added Products These new grants from DOE are a natural extension of the work Lansing does in her Bioenergy and Bioprocess- ing Technology Laboratory, converting waste products into energy and value-added products, often through anaerobic digestion.As part of the $3.5 million grant focused on bio- fuel production, Lansing and her team across Ohio State University, Mississippi State University,Virginia Tech, Idaho National Lab, SCS Engineers and Quasar Energy Group will be first conducting a large characterization study across ev- ery region of the country and every season of the year to understand how location and the time of year affects the waste coming into landfills, and what the biofuel potential of that waste really is.
Macquarie Makes Investment In LRS
LRS, an independent waste diversion, recycling and por- table services provider based in Morton Grove, Illinois, has completed a significant equity investment to accommodate and scale its growth. The investment was made by Macquarie Infrastructure Partners (MIP) V, an Americas-focused, $6.9 billion unlisted infrastructure fund managed by Sydney-based MacquarieAs- set Management (MAM). Financial terms were not disclosed. Major Investment Under the banner of the MIP series of funds, MAM-man- aged funds have invested more than $2.9 billion in the waste industry in the Americas since 2007, including investments inWaste Industries,WCA, GFL Environmental,WINWaste In- novations, Solví and now LRS. The investment follows a year of aggressive growth for LRS, as evidenced by the acquisition of 12 waste, recycling and portable toilet companies in Illinois,Wisconsin, Michi- gan, Indiana,Minnesota and Iowa.Additionally, the company has experienced significant organic growth through being awarded numerous large municipal contracts, including the entire city of Chicago’s Blue Cart recycling contract. Since its formation in 2013, LRS has grown from a single location with 200 employees and annual revenues of less than $50 million to a $375 million regional leader in waste diversion and recycling.
2 September 13, 2021 Recycling Markets
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