From left to right, the Perez family owners: David M. Perez, President/CEO of GCR and VVS; Pete Perez, VP/General Manager of GCR, Vince Perez; and Chris Perez.
Making Organics Recycling More Efficient
T he Grand Central Recycling and Transfer Station, Inc. (GCR) and Valley Vista Service (VVS) expanded state-of the-art organic waste processing area will greatly improve the efficiency and capacity of organic waste recycling. The new Organic Waste Processing Facility opened March 6. The most recent upgrade adds 15,000 square feet and incorporates state-of-the-art processing equipment from Green Machine of Whitney Point, NY, and Scott Equipment of New Prague, MN. VVS and GCR have added a total of $35,000 square feet with a $20 million investment into to the station to meet the state Organics Recycling Law. With the goal of diverting up to 95% of source-separated organic waste, over 90,000 customers from the cities of Industry, La Puente, Walnut, Diamond Bar, El Monte, Huntington Park, and Cypress, as well as the unincorporated communities of East Los Angeles, Hacienda Heights, Bassett, Valinda, and South San Jose Hills, can take comfort in knowing their organic waste is being diverted from landfills, thus minimizing methane emissions. In addition to the facility expansion and equipment upgrades, VVS and GCR are proud to be designated as a “High-Diversion Organic Waste Processing Facility” by CalRecycle — one of only
four such facilities in the entire state. The Green Machine’s picking line efficiently removes packaging and contaminants from source-separated organic waste before it is processed by Scott Equipment’s THOR de-packaging system. This innovative system uses swing hammers to break open bags and packaging, transforming the organic waste into a smoothie- like consistency for processing at the Rialto Bioenergy Facility. There, the organic waste is processed in the largest high-solid anaerobic digester in the country, converting waste into valuable commodities such as energy, fertilizer, and renewable natural gas (RNG). The facility is expected to process between 20 and 40 tons of organic waste per hour, with a maximum annual capacity of approximately 83,000 tons. By effectively removing contaminants from collected organic waste, VVS and GCR aim to reduce rising processing costs and broaden the acceptance of pre-processed material at various disposal sites. VVS and GCR are fourth generation family owned and operated California companies in the San Gabriel Valley. VVS has been providing waste hauling and recycling services since 1957, and GCR since 2001.
From left to right: David M. Perez; Chris Perez; Joanne McClaskey, Executive Director Industry Business Council; Alma Martinez, City Manager of El Monte; Vince Perez; Pete Perez; Michelle Perez; Cory Moss, City of Industry Mayor/IPUC President; Manny Perez.
24 | Earthday 2025
ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE L.A. TIMES
Civic Publications, Inc. | 25
Made with FlippingBook - Share PDF online