The Upcycle Company, a leading provider of services to upcycle fats, oils, proteins and nutrient-dense fertilizer from food processing plant waste, will establish operations in Bishopville, South Carolina. The $8 million project is expected to create 22 jobs in Lee County over the next five years.

The new treatment facility at Belger Farms, a family-run farm with a history of utilizing organic residuals as a supplemental fertilizer, will extract the oils from these residuals, yielding a valuable co-product with end-uses in the fertilizer, cosmetics, energy, animal feed industries and others. Operations are scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2023.

“Lee County is proximate to many of the plants that generate the source materials that we can upcycle into a range of valuable co-products. Working with Belger Farms, Lee County and the state of South Carolina has made the establishment of our operations very easy, enabling us to bring the benefits of upcycling at scale to the region,” The Upcycle Company CEO Dewey Burke said.

The Coordinating Council for Economic Development awarded a $50,000 Rural Infrastructure Fund (RIF) grant to Lee County to assist The Upcycle Company with site preparation.

“South Carolina is well-positioned to serve the growth of companies in the recycling sector because of our excellent business resources for existing and emerging markets in the green growth industry. It is always great to see a new business establish in our state, and we wish The Upcycle Company much success in Lee County,” Secretary of Commerce Harry M. Lightsey III noted.

The Upcycle Company serves the animal harvest, food production and further processing industries that generate wastewater high in fats, oils and proteins. The company’s advanced, patent-pending, proprietary fat and oil extraction technology efficiently separates the oils and protein solids, upcycling them into valuable co-products for beneficial use.

“This region continues to attract robust and diversified business partners. The announcement of The Upcycle Company to operate in Lee County is an exciting one. We are dedicated to providing top notch talent to shore up their continued success,” added TheLINK Economic Development Board Chair Gordon Eckley.