Company Profile
Entrepreneurs Leo Pollock and Nat Harris co-founded ReMix Organics (formerly The Compost Plant) in 2013 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the demand placed on local landfills by diverting organic waste.
In a little over a decade, the company has grown to nine employees and become Rhode Island’s largest waste organics hauler. The company has, to date, diverted nearly 40,000 tons of organic waste for higher and better use by regional farms and anaerobic digesters.
Situation
Collecting, processing and transporting food waste involves constant movement and specialized equipment. The team designed and custom-built their trucks. They also sought out innovative solutions to challenges involved in collecting from a wide variety of buildings – some with ramps, many without – and container types.
Keeping employees safe while operating tippers, hoists and forklifts is a priority for the company. After learning about Polaris MEP’s third-party resource network, Remix Organics asked the MEP Center for help.
IMPACTS
592:1 ROI in sales and savings
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$792,480 avoided unnecessary spending / investments | |
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$330,000 in new sales | |
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1 new job; 2 positions retained |
It was a fantastic training experience that upped everyone’s game in regard to safety. Navigating the process from start to finish with [Polaris MEP manager] Kayla Viveiros was professional, courteous and efficient.
Nat Harris
Co-Founder, ReMix Organics
Solution
Polaris MEP Client Engagement Manager Kayla Viveiros managed a third-party specialist, Safety Trainers, in a Facility Hazard / OSHA Assessment of the Providence processing center. Safety Trainers and Polaris MEP team members conducted a visual assessment of all workspaces, providing the client with a corrective action written report that same day.
The MEP Center believes in “learn-do” support to ensure that clients can maintain systems as they scale. So, best practices were identified along with a list of recommendations for engineering and administrative controls.
Viveiros also connected ReMix with certified Forklift Training for team members that would assist the company in meeting OSHA Guidelines for workplaces with power industrial trucks. Finally, she helped them apply for Incumbent Worker Training Grants through the State of Rhode Island’s Governor’s Workforce Board – cutting the cost of the project in half.
Results
ReMix Organics now has the training and materials needed to meet current regulatory standards as they grow. Pollock and Harris reported that the services received led to an increase in sales of $330,000 and helped them retain 2 jobs.
Because they had audited their processes and enhanced their procedures, the team passed a subsequent OSHA audit with no corrective actions. The value of fines avoided was estimated at $792,480 in savings!
The overall Return on Investment for the project in sales and savings was a remarkable 592:1.
Harris said “It was a fantastic training experience that upped everyone’s game in regard to safety. Navigating the process from start to finish with Kayla was professional, courteous and efficient.”
The co-founder added that the project was an eye-opener in one other way: “I was not aware of the depth of services Polaris MEP offers and will be definitely taking advantage of more offerings in the future!”