Turning trash into jobs: Floyd Bouldin buys Aquatech building
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And it’s his thinking and ingenuity which is expected to bring hundreds of new jobs to Warren County over the next four years.
Earlier this month, Bouldin officially closed a deal to purchase the former Aquatech facility. Bouldin now owns the 136,000-square-foot building and will begin hiring employees next month for his new company called WastAway.
Early projections have WastAway operating with 55 employees by next October and Bouldin says he would like to have the workforce at 300 employees in four years. As for the impact of WastAway, which turns household garbage into boards and other building material, Bouldin doesn’t see many limitations.
“I’m a dreamer,” said Bouldin. “I’m thinking globally.
“We’re doing our best to take this new technology and bring jobs to Warren County, but this is more than just a business – it’s an industry. What we’re doing will bring more work to a number of local businesses and we want to keep that work right here in Warren County.”
County Executive Kenneth Rogers agrees.
“If this works half as well as they say it will, it’s going to put Warren County on the map,” said Rogers. “I see it doing wonders, not only with the initial plant, but with the spin-off work.”
The deal for the Aquatech building took about six months to complete. The building was previously owned by Greenwood Development, a company based in Spartenburg, S.C.
Bouldin and Greenwood Development reached an agreement in selling price about two months ago. All the loose ends were finally worked out and the deal was finalized roughly two weeks ago.
“Now that I’ve got the building, all I have to do is fill it up with business,” said Bouldin.
That shouldn’t be a problem considering Bouldin owns the patent for another 14 years on the two-part process which turns garbage into building material. And the process of turning trash into treasure, so to speak, almost seems unbelievable.
It all starts with ordinary bags of garbage containing trash such as soft drink cans, diapers, milk containers, table scraps and anything else which gets thrown away. That entire bag is then tossed in a WastAway machine, and turned into composite material under temperatures approaching 300 degrees.
From there, the composite material can be compressed into a variety of sterile shapes, including 2x4s and fence posts. Those building materials have been deemed by the government to contain 95 percent recycled material.
“You can imagine the impact this could have on a Third World country that’s paying to have its garbage dropped by a reef in the ocean while its people can’t afford to have building materials for houses,” said Bouldin.
As far as early interest, Bouldin has been receiving support from the Army Corps of Engineers and has agreed to do a six-month demonstration of the process at a military base near Washington D.C. in January. Bouldin says the Army is interested in using WastAway at around 100 of its military bases.
“It makes things a little more comfortable when the Army is behind you,” said Bouldin. “And the community has encouraged me so much. Everyone here has been very supportive.”