Vanguard Renewables acquires E-Z Recycling

Vanguard Renewables, headquartered in Weston, Massachusetts, has acquired E-Z Recycling, a St. Paul, Minnesota-based food and beverage waste recycling company.

The acquisition will add depackaging capabilities to Vanguard’s expanding anaerobic digestion network, enabling the transformation of food waste into renewable energy.

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“This acquisition represents our commitment to creating a fully integrated, circular solution for food and beverage companies across the Midwest,” Mike O’Laughlin, CEO ofVanguard Renewables, says. “By adding E-Z Recycling into our network and combining their depackaging expertise with our anaerobic digestion infrastructure, we’re expanding the solutions available to our customers while setting a new standard for sustainability and compliance in the region.”

According to Vanguard, Minnesota is a hub for food and beverage manufacturing, supported by strong logistics and a regulatory environment focused on reducing landfill waste through organics recycling and improved packaging recovery. The company operates an existing anaerobic digestion facility in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region and recently announced a second in Meeker County through a partnership with CenterPoint Energy.

Since 1986, E-Z Recycling has served as one of the region’s leading depackaging facilities. The company’s St. Paul site produces up to 125 tons of food and beverage waste daily across three full processing lines, Vanguard says, with recent upgrades expected to increase capacity to more than 300 tons daily.

E-Z Recycling’s facility also includes 7,200 square feet of processing space and access to more than 25,000 square feet of storage. As part of Vanguard Renewables, the site will serve as a new outlet for customers seeking organics recycling solutions in the Twin Cities area.

“For more than 40 years, we’ve built our business on doing what’s right for our customers, our community and the environment,” Andy Rausch, owner of E-Z Recycling, says. “Joining Vanguard Renewables strengthens our operations, expands the ways we can support customers and accelerates our impact across the Midwest and beyond. Our shared commitment to these values gives me confidence in the future, and we’re excited to begin this next chapter.”

Rausch will remain actively involved as principal operations manager, continuing to lead operations of the facility.