Team Gemini Signs Recycling Facility Agreement with Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio

Jan. 7, 2013 - PRLog -- (Orlando, FL) — Team Gemini, a sustainable project design and development company based in Orlando, Florida, has entered into an agreement with the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio to build a landfill receiving facility and materials recovery facility on SWACO property in Grove City, Ohio.

The agreement sets the stage for integrating a viable sustainable solution that reduces SWACO’s use of landfills and will eventually eliminate the need for their use by replacing them with a landfill receiving facility (LRF) that works with a waste stream recovery and recycling facility.

Team Gemini has been selected by SWACO to build both the LRF and the waste stream recovery facility, which has been dubbed the ‘Center for Resource Recovery and Recycling’ or COR3, in a tract of land south of Ohio State Route 665 in Grove City, OH.

The LRF will be owned and operated by SWACO, while the COR3 facility will be owned and operated by Team Gemini and both buildings will have a combined area of over 185,000 Square feet.

When the project is completed, all municipal solid waste (MSW) will be delivered to the receiving facility, where the waste will then be directed to either the MRF/COR3 or the landfill—a procedure that will allow MSW haulers to remain on pavement without having to climb the hill.

Since climbing a landfill requires additional power and yields increased CO2 emissions, the dumping of waste at the MRF/COR3 complex will promote a cleaner way of handling MSW by keeping truck engines running cleaner and minimizing traffic on the landfill.  

Initially, the MRF will be able to process up to 2,000 tons per day, with plans to process the entire waste stream in the future—thus achieving nearly 100 percent recycling of the MSW received from the LRF.

After recyclable materials are recovered, which include metals and plastics, the balance of the organic waste will be preprocessed for use in anaerobic digesters and other sustainable energy generation technologies—all of which will be located north of S.R. 665.

In addition to the LRF and COR3 projects, Team Gemini has signed a lease with SWACO to develop a 343-acre tract of land north of S.R. 665, to create industrial and research park that will serve as a sustainable business cluster powered by the waste stream located within a Community Reinvestment Area (CRA).

An integral benefit for tenants of the sustainable industrial park will include access to recyclable by-products recovered from the MSW processing, which can be used to generate power or create new products from recycled materials.

Team Gemini plans to become the anchor tenant in the industrial park, which will be named Gemini Synergy Center, and will build process facilities for recycled products and manufacturing to be powered by the MSW waste stream—including a biogas/biomass plant, a facility for converting compost into fertilizers and hybrid soils, and the conversion of plastics into oil.

In addition, Team Gemini will manage an additional 35 acres of state-of-the-art automated greenhouses that can grow organic food year-round. Details on this facility, as well as the sustainable technologies and industrial park at the Gemini Synergy Center will be available soon.

“We want to thank every team member and strategic partner in this amazing project,” said Doug Haughn of Team Gemini. “While we cannot thank every single individual at this time, we want to recognize Columbus 2020, Manhattan Construction, the Ohio BioProducts Innovation Center at The Ohio State University, Professional Energy Services, Baker Barrios Ohio, Inc., Estrada Hinojosa & Company, Colliers International, ABB, Inc., Greenavations Power, LLC, Renewable Energy Equipment Leasing, LLC, Fuego Communications, and Battelle for their support.”

Colliers International will be handling all inquiries from potential tenants interested in being a part of the industrial and research park, including build-to-suit opportunities with land sites available ranging between 1-100 acres.

The total investment by Team Gemini is planned to be up to $300 million and will create up to 300 new jobs averaging a yearly salary of $38,000 in Phase 1 over the next three years—not including the more than 500 temporary construction jobs needed to build the project.

While the construction of the entire facility can take up to 4 years to complete, the plan is to have the LRF and COR3 online within 2 years, paving the way for the full build out of the project.

This new relationship between SWACO and Team Gemini will have a positive impact in Central Ohio, creating a synergistic environment that turns MSW in to a valuable economic resource.

SWACO Executive Director, Ronald J. Mills, states that this collaboration marks a historic milestone with sustainability. "This project shows how to take waste handling from a cost center to a revenue-generating center," Mills added. "What we are doing here in Ohio will be seen as a game changer nationally."

Haughn added: “Though we are starting with 25 percent recycling, we have the goal to one day reach  close to 100 percent recycling, and eventually mining the landfill for resources while increasing the revenue of SWACO in the process.”  

About Team Gemini, LLC

Team Gemini, LLC (TG) is a sustainable project design and development company based in Orlando, Florida that develops community-based technology clusters that yield sustainable agriculture and renewable energy.  TG works with communities, government and public sector leaders to combine renewable energy, recycling, water conservation and food production in a closed-loop sustainable relationship.  The company’s sustainable clusters function as a carbon-negative operation guided by Corporate Social Responsibility and an alignment with the Triple Bottom Line.    

To learn more about Team Gemini services and markets, please visit http://www.teamgemini.us.

About SWACO

The Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio serves as the waste district for Franklin County and is known as a leading area expert on recycling and in converting yesterday’s throw-a-ways into energy for tomorrow. SWACO owns and operates one of the top ten largest public landfills in the country, as well as one of the nation’s largest Recycling Drop-Off programs. SWACO’s Drop-Off program diverted about 16,000 tons in recyclables in 2012. That is in addition to 255,000 tons of yard and household hazardous waste spared from the landfill that same year through other SWACO programs. In addition, SWACO has contracted with a private company to purify landfill gas into natural gas which will then be sold on the nation’s pipeline. (Projections show SWACO’s landfill is expected to produce about 10 million gas gallon equivalents a year starting in 2015.) SWACO has also been recognized as a leading waste authority by trade publications and carries a triple AAA bond rating.

To learn more about SWACO, please visit http://www.swaco.org.

Media Contacts:

Douglas P. Haughn
Team Gemini, LLC
media [at] teamgemini.us

Media Inquires Only: 614-586-5707

Jodi Andes
SWACO
jodi.andes [at] swaco.org

Bill Baumgardner
Colliers International
bill.baumgardner [at] colliers.com

Andres Goyanes
Fuego Communications
media [at] fuegocommunications.com