The Grossman Group, Inc. - Press

Thursday, December 13, 2007

The Grossman Group (TGG) has announced plans to support the Mid-Ohio FoodBank as a way of giving back to the community and helping those in need during the 2007 holiday season. TGG is a Columbus, Ohio, paper and plastic recycling company.

The Mid-Ohio FoodBank provides food to more than 550 food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters and other charities. TGG’s plans for supporting the Mid-Ohio FoodBank include:

As a part of its regular business, TGG already recycles cardboard generated from the Mid-Ohio FoodBank. But during this holiday season, TGG will make a special donation to the Mid-Ohio FoodBank for every ton of cardboard or other recyclable materials it receives from the FoodBank.

Some of TGG’s other recycling clients (who wish to remain anonymous) have asked that a portion of their revenue generated from recycling their paper, plastic and cardboard be donated to the Mid-Ohio FoodBank. TGG will make an additional contribution to the Mid-Ohio FoodBank for every ton of paper, plastic or cardboard brought to them or picked up in large quantities when told this material is for the benefit of our environment and the Mid-Ohio FoodBank.

TGG is making it possible for everyone, not just companies, to be involved and help support the Mid-Ohio FoodBank with what it calls “an old-fashioned scrap drive.” The company is inviting individuals to bring their post-holiday cardboard and wrapping paper to the TGG recycling center with the proceeds to be donated to the Mid-Ohio FoodBank.

“This is a win-win for everyone,” says Jerry Corbin, senior account executive for TGG. “It is a wonderful opportunity to help our environment, the City of Columbus and the Solid Waste Authority by keeping material out of the landfills, but most importantly to help support the Mid-Ohio FoodBank,”

TGG will continue receiving and making donations until January 31, 2008.

Thursday, July 13, 2006
Jodi Andes
The Columbus Dispatch

Piles of cardboard await recycling by the Grossman Group, which has leased Columbus’ former trashburning power plant. So far, it has diverted more than 15,000 tons of trash from the landfill.

Rising phoenixlike from the ashes of Columbus’ former trash-burning power plant, the Grossman Group is the type of business Mayor Michael B. Coleman wants to see more of.

The company pays other businesses for their trash and separates paper and cardboard from the garbage. Then it resells the recyclables to make a profit.

Coleman used the Grossman operation — on the site where former city leaders’ dreams of turning trash into energy went up in smoke — as a backdrop yesterday to talk about his plans for a greener Columbus.

He wants to give incentives to environmentally friendly companies that create jobs in Columbus. He wants to set standards for energy-efficient homes and commercial buildings and offer city help to those who meet those standards.

Coleman said he is placing environmental concerns front and center in his administration, along with the issues of Downtown revitalization and cleaning up blighted properties in neighborhoods.

"I’d like to see the city create a niche of recycle-friendly products," Coleman said.

Left for the drawing board is a definition of what makes a company or building "green" and exactly what types of incentives the city would offer.

But, in December, the city rolled out a glimpse of what might be coming when it announced incentives for a business park at Cassady Avenue and I-670. Companies moving there could get a 50 percent tax abatement on the property for 10 years. The incentive would extend to 12 years if the companies built to federal environmental standards.

In Grossman’s case, the city offered a lease on the power plant’s former warehouse based on how much business the company does: $1.75 for every ton recycled. So far, the company has paid the city about $26,000 and more than 15,000 tons of trash has been diverted from the landfill.

For every day the facility operates, the landfill’s lifespan gains a week, said Mike Long, director of the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio.

The city could divert even more recyclable paper from the landfill if Columbus were to run all of its trash through for separation. The idea, called a Material Recovery Facility, has long been touted by environmentalists and has been championed by City Auditor Hugh J. Dorrian.

Coleman and other officials have been looking for ways to boost Columbus’ recycling rate, but they ended a test program last week that allowed residents to bag recyclables and put them out with the trash because too few people used it.

Separating recyclables from trash after it is collected would be expensive, which is why other city leaders have rejected the idea. But company President Steve Grossman said new technology — and a market that is paying up to $85 a ton for paper — could make it feasible for a company like his to expand to handle a Material Recovery Facility for the city.

Contact: Mike Brown, 614-645-6428
Steve Grossman, 614-899-6759
John Remy, 614-801-6410

COLUMBUS GROWING “GREEN” JOBS AT
FORMER TRASH BURNING POWER PLANT
Mayor tours plant and releases Progress Report on Get Green Columbus

(Columbus) Just 18 months after unveiling Get Green Columbus, Mayor Michael B. Coleman is touring one of the city’s newest businesses - the Grossman Group, Inc. - that is creating jobs and helping the environment by recycling commercial paper and other products. The Mayor and Michael D. Long, Executive Director of the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio (SWACO), today joined Steve Grossman at his business, housed in the former Trash Burning Power Plant, to announce that the commercial recycler is planning to double its capacity after only seven months in operation.

“Eighteen months ago, I issued the City’s marching orders with Get Green Columbus, and we are pushing ahead with new policies, more recycling, new business and green housing incentives, and a new attitude toward building Columbus as one of America’s most sustainable, environmentally-friendly cities,” said Mayor Coleman. “We are changing the way we build buildings, plan neighborhoods and grow, and we are proud to see new jobs created at the Grossman Group.”

Since beginning operations, Grossman’s employees continue to excel in diverting commercial waste from being deposited in the landfill. After seven months in operation, the company is recycling 100 plus tons of waste a day. The Grossman Group has been awarded two matching fund grants to improve its operations: $479,000 from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to purchase a new baler, and $88,000 for a machine that separates commercial trash from useable paper that can be sold to paper mills. Additionally, they received a grant from SWACO to promote their mixed-waste processing facility to commercial haulers operating in the Columbus area.

“Last November, after working with SWACO, we set a three-year goal to reduce commercial waste from going into the limited space at the landfill. We proved we could do it and reached that goal in only six months. We are now ready to expand our operations,” Grossman said.

Grossman said the purchase of a new baler will help the company increase the volume of recycling from 1,500 - 2,000 tons per month to 3,000 tons per month. The SWACO landfill receives about 3,500 tons of waste per day, and Grossman’s operation’s will help extend the life of the landfill, which means long-term savings for Columbus’ residents and taxpayers, as well as commercial businesses.

“We need to start thinking differently about our trash,” said Michael D. Long of SWACO. “Our trash is a resource. Our trash can be the raw materials for new products. We can create new jobs making things from these renewable resources. We can produce renewable energy. And, we can do all of these things while protecting the environment.”

The Mayor and SWACO continue to work toward implementing the goals of the Get Green Columbus initiative, and released an 18 month update on the progress to date. They also agreed to push forward a continuing agenda to make Columbus and all Central Ohio greener, including:

1. Construct a Green Business Strategy, inventory existing companies that operate in this area and nurture their growth and success;
2. Establish specific Green Jobs Incentives to encourage the attraction, retention, and expansion of green businesses, particularly those that recycle material in our waste stream and promote its reuse or use for new products;
3. Formalize a Green Building Code to encourage green buildings and green development, learning from GREEN VIEW ESTATES, the city’s first “green” neighborhood;
4. Encourage more recycling, by doubling the number of neighborhood drop boxes, adding 100 at area schools to make it more convenient, and free, for families to recycle;
5. Buy Green, with the City’s new procurement code to promote green purchasing and practices by City Agencies;
6. Continue to work with the Mayor’s Green Team of advisors to study national policies and best practices in the areas of business and residential recycling, improving air and water quality, and promoting green business and development.

GROSSMAN RECEIVES $239,517 RECYCLING GRANT

For Immediate Release
May 18, 2006

Media Contact:
Steve Grossman, The Grossman Group, Inc 614-899-6759
steve@thegrossmangroup.com

The Grossman Group, Inc. of Columbus ,
Ohio , has been awarded their second Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Recycling & Litter Prevention, matching grant in the amount of $239,517. The money, matched by the company will be used to purchase a new baler and conveyor capable of increasing their capacity from processed co-mingled commercial cardboard and trash by 12,000 tons per year. The company is presently processing approximately 2,500 tons per month, keeping the recovered paper out of our landfill, extending its life.

The Grossman Group, Inc received their first matching grant in 2005 from ODNR’s Division of Recycling & Litter Prevention in the amount of $88,000 to purchase equipment to separate loads of corrugated cardboard from commercial trash, and market the cardboard to paper mills.

“We are delighted to have received this second grant, as I believe ODNR recognizes the great success we have had, in conjunction with SWACO, in reducing the large volumes of material that had here to for flowed into the landfill”, said Steve Grossman, President of The Grossman Group, Inc.

“When we started this pilot program late last year in one of the buildings remaining from the Waste to Energy Facility property, we were anxious to prove the projects potential to both the Solid Waste Authority, as well as The City of Columbus. We are proud to state that through the efforts of many people, including our corporate associates, haulers and private companies, we exceeded our goals in a much shorter time than expected”, said Grossman. “We have now outgrown our present facility, and are working with SWACO and others to locate, and expand into a larger, centrally located, customer friendly facility with the potential to develop recycling for both commercial and residential customers, something our City has had the vision to expand upon” said Grossman.

For Immediate Release
December 6, 2005

Media Contact:
Steve Grossman, The Grossman Group, Inc 614-899-6759
steve@thegrossmangroup.com

The Grossman Group, Inc. announces their financial support for Keep Franklin County Beautiful , a non profit organization at risk of losing a significant portion of their funding.

Columbus , Ohio —The Grossman Group, Inc. is committed to the efforts of Keep Franklin County Beautiful, Inc., a non profit organization started in 1982 as a litter prevention initiative under the County Commissioners . KFCB receives support and sponsorship from community businesses, SWACO, membership fees and revenue from recycling efforts. KFCB has among its activities the Great American Cleanup, Litter Survey’s, Environmental education programs and numerous recycling efforts, just to name a few. In 1989, the management of KFCB was turned over to SWACO, who continued to financially support as a significant funding medium, as well as lend their expertise to various initiatives of KFCB. Apparently due to budget restraints, SWACO has notified KFCB that they may need to terminate their agreement two years early, which could take up to $50,000 out of KFCB’s 2006 budget.

“This could be devastating to KFCB”, said Steve Grossman, President of The Grossman Group, Inc. The Grossman Group, Inc, a local and national recycler of primarily cardboard and other papers, entered into a sub lease with SWACO for a portion of the Waste to Energy Facility on Jackson Pike. TGG’s operating agreement with SWACO says they are permitted to operate their recycling operation as a private business, making any transactions with haulers, customers, etc., so long as they stay in compliance of shipping out over 60% clean to the co-mingled commercial paper and trash that comes into the facility. For the month of November, our first month of operation, 1,188.57 tons of co-mingled came in, with 1,153.15 tons of clean paper going out, for a ratio of 97% clean. With our existing agreements in place, we anticipate over 2,500 tons of co mingled coming in for December.

The second part of the operating agreement is SWACO’s responsibility of developing “select loads” with haulers with a high percentage of cardboard and paper. The haulers benefit with a reduced tipping fee determined by SWACO, the opportunity to dump on cement, enclosed floor and a location several miles closer in most instances than the Franklin County landfill. For these loads of seventy percent paper or greater, SWACO has the responsibility of hauling the trash at their expense. This is an important part of the overall operation, as the volumes can be significant, benefiting everyone.

TGG is making a commitment to KFCB, that for every ton of clean cardboard and other paper going out to paper mills, which was generated from the efforts of SWACO, and the select load program, a contribution of $1.00 per ton will be sent to them. “ It is very realistic for SWACO to develop two thousand to twenty-five hundred tons per month coming in, and with a recovery rate of seventy-five percent, or fifteen hundred tons per month, our contribution would be at lease $1,500 per month”, said Grossman. “This is something we would welcome, as with our program being a win win for everyone, this would be another winner, and a pleasure for us to assist a very worthwhile organization”, said Grossman.