CALIFORNIA - Divert, a sustainable solutions company committed to solving the wasted food crisis and advancing a circular economy, announced the opening of its Integrated Diversion & Energy Facility in Turlock, California, the first of its kind for the state in accelerating progress against the wasted food crisis. The new facility marks a significant milestone in the company’s robust expansion roadmap to scale its sustainable infrastructure solutions to 30 facilities across the United States by 2031.

“The opening of our Turlock facility is a landmark moment for Divert in accelerating our progress against the wasted food crisis and addressing climate change to benefit both people and our planet,” said Ryan Begin, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Divert. “For 17 years, Divert has been at the forefront of driving a positive impact against this social and environmental crisis, working hand-in-hand with our customers and partners. Our new Turlock facility is an important milestone as we continue to lead the industry, and we are well positioned as we rapidly scale our solutions nationwide to serve more businesses and consumers.”

Divert’s facility advances a circular economy through an end-to-end solution that prevents wasted food, facilitates edible food recovery to provide to people in need, and transforms unsold food products into carbon-negative renewable energy to power local homes and businesses. Equipped to offset up to 23,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year, the equivalent to taking nearly 5,000 gas-powered cars off the road, the facility will bring California closer to reaching its net-zero carbon pollution goals by 2045, a press release confirmed.

The facility leverages Divert’s proprietary depackaging solution and anaerobic digestion to process 100,000 tons of unsold food products each year into two beneficial byproducts: renewable energy and a soil amendment that allows for the nutrients to return to farmland, supporting further food growth. In doing so, Divert prevents these unsold food products from reaching the landfill, thereby eliminating harmful methane emissions that contribute to climate change.

In a first-of-its-kind interconnection for Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) in California, the processed renewable natural gas (RNG) is being injected into PG&E’s natural gas transmission line. Nearly 225,000 MMBtu of Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) will be delivered into PG&E's system annually.

Divert works with some of the largest food retailers in the U.S., including Ahold Delhaize, CVS, Kroger, Albertsons, Target, and others, to prevent wasted food and facilitate edible food recovery to feed people in need.

“We’re proud to partner with Divert in our efforts to prevent food waste and increase food recovery in our stores,” said Karl Schroeder, Division President of Safeway Northern California. “Our partnership allows us to better serve our customers by reducing waste, supporting local food banks, and providing more opportunities to help our neighbors in need access fresh, nutritious food.”

To read the full press release, click here.

Further information on Divert’s initiatives can be found here.

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