Garick LLC

Garick LLC is a "leading distributor of natural resource products in the United States and Canada, servicing the landscape, recreation, lawn, garden and construction industries." Garick was founded in 1980 by Gary Trinetti and Rick Mahoney and it is based in Cleveland, OH. Among its many products and services, Garick provides consulting on how to compost sewage sludge and sell it (under the name "biosolids") as compost. A 2010 online comment made by a person who identifies herself as Megan Suchy, an employee of Garick, said that Garick has never processed biosolids. Waste Management purchased a controlling share in Garick in 2010.
 * "Garick's product lines include Paygro™ mulches, soils, Kids Karpet™ playground surfacing, natural stone,decorative stone, hydroseed mulches, grower's mixes and lightweight aggregates. Garick also provides services such as grinding and screening soils, mulches and other organic by-products, as well as consulting for the compost and organic industries.


 * "Garick acquired Paygro, located in South Charleston, Ohio, in September 1998 to expand into the packaged bark and soil industries. Paygro, originally a division of the Mead Paper Company, was initially developed in 1972 to compost cattle manure from the Ohio Feed Lot. Since, Paygro has evolved into a major supplier to the horticultural, lawn, and garden industries with a diverse line of over 50 products. Paygro has a processing operation which bales and bags soil, mulch, and stone products.


 * "Additionally, the Paygro System, an innovative world-class composting system, is a patented process that provides its customers with the best quality composted pine bark, hardwood bark and potting and planting soils available."

Services
Garick and its subsidiaries provide consulting, "composting, manure and byproducts management, anaerobic digestion, biomass projects, renewable energy, mulch and soils, marketing and sales, packaging, and logistics & transportation." Garick's website says:


 * "Combined, the team has expertise in many facets of the industry, including biosolids [sewage sludge], composting, biodegradable (ASTM D-6400 certified) compost bags, biodegradable (ASTM D-6400 certified) food service ware, recycling, wastewater, and all other aspects of sustainability. With this knowledge and expertise they bring to Garick, the company is on the fast track to becoming one of the nations leaders in its industry. "

Services include:


 * "Consulting services - providing solutions
 * Environmental and permit compliance

Organic diversion program development, training, signage, and implementation
 * Facility waste audits
 * Land application of byproducts
 * Permit writing
 * Grant writing
 * Public relations
 * Biodegradable (ASTM D-6400 Certified) compostable bags and food service ware
 * Manure/nutrient management
 * Material sampling and analysis, waste characterization
 * Greenhouse gas emissions, protocols, and carbon credits
 * Waste transportation and logistics
 * A complete line of mulches, soils, and organic products available in bags and bulk.
 * Compost site design
 * Packaging"

Consulting Team
Garick's consulting team, which consists of "associates" and "advisors," can "offer expert advice on composting, sustainability, and landscape operations. Combined, the team has experience in many facets of the industry, including biosolids, composting, recycling, wastewater, and others." (Emphasis added)

Associates include:
 * John C. Gundlach
 * Michael R. Marsollek
 * Gary P. Trinetti

Advisors include:
 * Ron Alexander
 * Harry A.J. Hoitink
 * Walter W. Carey

Products
Garick and its subsidiaries provide both packaged and bulk products.

Packaged Products
Products include:
 * Nature’s Helper® soil amendment
 * Black Satin® Mulch
 * Designated Dryer® sports turf conditioner
 * HydRocks® soil enhancer (made with clay)
 * Kids Karpet® recreational surfacing
 * Moo-Nure® organic compost (made with cow manure)

Garick procures the materials for its products "from a multitude of suppliers within the forest product, agricultural, and mining industries." It markets the products listed above as "organic."

Bulk Products
Garick provides a number of bulk products, including mulch, soil, compost, soil amendments, professional grower mixes, landscape stone, construction & aggregates, athletic & recreational products, and forest and winter products such as logs, lumber, wood chips, and shavings.

Composts include:
 * Dehydrated Cow Manure: Made from reed sedge peat, sphagnum peat, composted hardwood bark, pine bark, and composted cow manure.
 * Organic Humus Compost: Made from composted barks, manure, wood and food products.
 * Composted Cow Manure: A mixture of cow manure and "organic compost."
 * Paygro® Pro Erosion Control Compost: Made from sawdust, straw, manure, and vegetable waste.
 * Paygro® Pro Topdress Compost: Made from sawdust, straw, manure, and vegetable waste.

Garick's bulk soil is potting soil, made from "pine bark, canadian sphagnum peat moss, organic compost, sand and a wetting agent."

Soil Amendments include: Garick's Professional Grower Mixes are made from pine bark, sphagnum peat moss, and Perlite but Garick will also produce custom blends upon request.
 * Composted Rice Hulls
 * Nature's Helper Soil Conditioner
 * HydRocks: Made from clay.

Athletic and recreational products include:
 * Athletic Field Marker: Made from crushed white calcium carbonate.
 * Kids Karpet® and Kids Karpet® Gold: Made from wood fiber.
 * Designated Dryer: Made from calcined clay.
 * Infield Mix: Made with calcined clay.
 * Paygro® Pro New Turf Compost: Made from "sawdust, straw, manure, and vegetable waste. Contains no yard waste and no biosolids" (sewage sludge).
 * Paygro® Pro Bed Builder Compost: Made from "50% Compost and 50% Pine Fines"
 * Paygro® Pro Erosion Control Compost: Made from sawdust, straw, manure, and vegetable waste.
 * Paygro® Pro Topdress Compost: Made from sawdust, straw, manure, and vegetable waste.
 * Sunset Red Infield Mix: A blend of 70% sand and 30% Georgia Red Clay.
 * Warning Track Material: Made from crushed red granite.

Composting Facilities
Garick operates seven composting, processing, and packaging facilities: Paygro in South Charleston, OH; Smith Garden Products in Cumming, GA; New Milford Farms in New Milford, CT; Tarheel Bark in Harrisburg, NC; and three additional facilities located in Rosemount, MN, Decaturville, TN, and Cabool, MO. Garick also owns Perryville Wood Terminal in Perryville, Tennessee.

The four facilities listed below accept green waste, and two accept food waste (pre and post consumer) and "other organic wastes."

New Milford Farms
New Milford Farms, located in New Milford, CT, was established in 1991 to compost food by-product waste from Nestle. Subsequently, it was expanded to accept and compost green waste. Garick acquired the facility in 2006.

Paygro
Paygro was originally a division of the Mead Paper Company. It was developed in 1972 to compost cattle manure from the Ohio Feed Lot. "Since, Paygro has evolved into a major supplier to the horticultural, lawn, and garden industries with a diverse line of over 50 products. Paygro has a processing operation which bales and bags soil and mulch products." Garick acquired Paygro in 1998 "to expand into the packaged bark and soil industries."

Smith Garden Products
Smith Garden Products was founded in 1950 under the name Joe K. Smith. Over the years, the business evolved into a shavings and saw dust facility and later into a "bark business." The business changed its name to Smith Garden Products in 1997 and was acquired by Garick in 2004. Today Smith Garden Products produces and distributes "barks, mulches, soils and planting mixes for the lawn and garden industry all over the southeast United States."

Tarheel Bark
Tarheel Bark was founded in 1985 by Baucom's Nursery and it was acquired by Garick in 2007. The facility produces "growing media, mulches, soils, and organic materials" which are marketed and sold throughout the Southeast United States.

Management
Garick LLC's management is as follows:
 * Gary P. Trinetti, President & Chief Executive Officer
 * Rick Mahoney, Executive Vice President
 * Robert Schanz, Chief Operating Officer
 * Enrico Varricchio, Chief Financial Officer
 * John Gundlach, VP of Sustainable Environmental and Energy Group
 * Kim Eger, VP of Lawn & Garden Products
 * Heather Conroy, Senior Manager, Product and Market Development
 * Marcella Drotleff, Senior Accounting Manager
 * Di Kuo, Director of World Class Customer Service
 * Sharon Kvak, Supply Chain Manager

Contact

 * 13600 Broadway Avenue
 * Cleveland, OH 44125
 * Ph: (800) 2GARICK or (216) 581-0100
 * Fax:(216) 581-4712
 * Web: http://www.garick.com

Garick Websites
Garick maintains several websites for its brands and products. They include:
 * Black Satin Mulch
 * Designated Dryer
 * Garick Bulk
 * Garick Solutions
 * GarTran
 * Hydrocks
 * Kids Karpet
 * Moo-Nure
 * Nature's Helper
 * New Milford Farms
 * Paygro
 * Smith Garden Products
 * Tarheel Bark

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Sewage sludge
 * Biosolids
 * Food Rights Network
 * US Composting Council
 * International Compost Awareness Week