Hartford Business Journal

March 25, 2019

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www.HartfordBusiness.com • March 25, 2019 • Hartford Business Journal 3 EDITORIAL Greg Bordonaro | Editor, ext. 139, gbordonaro@HartfordBusiness.com Gregory Seay | News Editor, ext. 144, gseay@HartfordBusiness.com Matt Pilon | News Editor, ext. 143, mpilon@HartfordBusiness.com Sean Teehan | Staff Writer, ext 145, steehan@hartfordbusiness.com Joe Cooper | Web Editor, ext. 127, jcooper@HartfordBusiness.com Stephanie Meagher | Research Director Heide Martin | Research Assistant Steve Laschever | Photographer BUSINESS Christopher Santilli | Publisher, ext. 124, csantilli@HartfordBusiness.com Donna Collins | Associate Publisher, ext. 121, dcollins@HartfordBusiness.com Lauren Stroud | Events & Project Manager, ext. 137, lstroud@HartfordBusiness.com Christina Zuraw | Events Coordinator, ext. 134, czuraw@hartfordbusiness.com Shannon Vincelette | HBJ Office and Events Coordinator, ext. 122, svincelette@hartfordbusiness.com David Hartley | Sr. Accounts Manager, ext. 130, dhartley@HartfordBusiness.com Kristen P. Nickerson | Sr. Accounts Manager, ext. 133, knickerson@HartfordBusiness.com Raki Zwiebel | Credit and Collections Manager Valerie Clark | Accounting Assistant/Office Manager Jill Coran | Human Resources Manager PRODUCTION Christopher Wallace | Art Director, ext. 147, cwallace@HartfordBusiness.com Liz Saltzman | Creative Director, ext. 140, lsaltzman@HartfordBusiness.com Peter Stanton | CEO, pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com Joseph Zwiebel | President, ext. 132, jzwiebel@HartfordBusiness.com Mary Rogers | COO/CFO, mrogers@nebusinessmedia.com SUBSCRIPTIONS: Annual subscriptions are $84.95. To subscribe, visit HartfordBusiness.com, email hartfordbusiness@cambeywest.com, or call (845) 267-3008. ADVERTISING: For advertising information, please call (860) 236-9998.Please address all correspondence to: Hartford Business Journal, 15 Lewis Street, Suite 200, Hart ford CT 06103. NEWS DEPARTMENT: If you have a news item: Call us at (860) 236-9998, fax us at (860) 570-2493, or e-mail us at news@HartfordBusiness.com. Hartford Business Journal accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or materials and in general does not return them to the sender. Hartford Business Journal (ISSN 1083-5245) is published weekly, 49x per year - including two special issues in November and December — by new England Business Media, LLC, 15 Lewis Street, Suite 200, Hartford, CT 06103. Periodicals postage paid at Hartford, CT and at additional entry points. Tel: (860) 236-9998 • Fax (860) 570-2493 Copyright 2019. All rights reserved. Postmaster: Please send address changes to: Hartford Business Journal P.O. Box 330, Congers, NY 10920-9894 www.copyright.com HartfordBusiness.com (860) 236-9998 Alexander Williams | Owner, Blue Earth Compost By Sean Teehan steehan@hartfordbusiness.com A lexander Williams graduated from Ford- ham University with a degree in environ- mental science in 2013, the same year Blue Earth Compost, which he now leads, was founded. Williams joined the com- pany in 2014, taking over ownership from founder Susannah Castle, and works as its director of operations. The Hartford-based com- pany collects food scraps from about 300 residential customers in Greater Hart- ford and 70 commercial customers. It uses a natural recycling process to turn the scraps into nutri- ent-rich compost that it delivers back to custom- ers three times per year. In an effort to grow the company, Williams earlier this year secured a $133,000 loan from the state Department of Economic and Community Development to buy a new truck. Blue Earth is also raising funds via crowdfunding site Indiegogo. That fundraising campaign raised $15,000 by the beginning of March, proof, Williams says, of people's desire for Blue Earth's services. In your experience, how is demand for greener garbage disposal options? The demand for these options is growing every day with awareness about food waste increas- ing around the country and state. Our customer base has grown considerably over the last five years. We're doing everything we can to keep this trend moving in the right direction and expect it to continue in the coming years. Aside from environmental concerns, how is composting a useful option for city-dwellers who don't have yards or gardens? One of the most frequent comments I get from residential customers is, 'I barely produce any trash any more.' If you recycle and compost you can greatly reduce the amount and nastiness of the trash you create, which reduces trips to the trash can, the number of trash bags you purchase, and the attractiveness of your trash to pests. What kind of growth trajectory do you expect for Blue Earth over the next five years? Our first custom-made food scrap collection dump truck arrived in February. This truck greatly increases our capabilities and flexibility. Specifi- cally, it doubles our hauling capacity and can collect both rolling carts and dumpsters. With this and future trucks, I expect us to be the largest hauler of food scraps in Connecticut in the near future. Blue Earth Compost is a benefit corporation. Can you tell us how Blue Earth fits into this category? For us, being a benefit corporation is about a commitment to our environment and our commu- nity, not just our profitability. We are committed to diverting food scraps and to hiring second-chance employees as well as to making money. Newsmakers VERBATIM Public health insurance option gains momentum "How can our state possibly achieve economic growth if its small employers struggle to provide quality affordable basic health care to employees? For the sake of economic growth — and for the basic wellbeing of Connecticut residents — [a public health insurance option] must be a priority." Comptroller Kevin Lembo reacting to the Insurance and Real Estate Committee approving and moving forward a bill that would expand the state employee health insurance plan to cover small companies with fewer than 50 workers. GREEN SOLUTIONS…ONE SOURCE The company that builds and installs the critical systems in virtually every type of facility is the same company you can rely on to maintain them. For over 50 years, our clients have trusted us to provide sustainable, more efficient, greener facilities. We are experts in: Energy Systems & Incentives Building Automation Technologies Sustainable Design & Operation 860.871.1111 Toll Free: 800.741.6367 nemsi.com License #'s: E1-104939 • S1-302974 • P1-203519 • F1-10498 • SM1-192 • MC-1134 MECHANICAL • ELECTRICAL • PLUMBING • SHEET METAL • BUILDING AUTOMATION • FACILITIES SERVICES Alexander Williams

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