EPA Mid-Atlantic Region Applauds Philadelphia-based OLIN
Landscape, architecture, urban design planning firm honored as EPA’s SBIR Phase II awardee
EPA Mid-Atlantic Region Applauds Philadelphia-based OLIN
Landscape, architecture, urban design planning firm honored as EPA’s SBIR Phase II awardee
PHILADELPHIA (Jan. 18, 2022) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced $3,599,571 in funding for nine small businesses today, including Philadelphia-based OLIN. The landscape, architecture and urban design planning firm is being recognized with EPA’s Small Business Innovation Research Program Phase II award for Sustainable Materials Management. OLIN’s project will assist in repurposing glass waste.
“I commend our nation’s small businesses for being at the forefront of addressing these environmental problems,” said Wayne Cascio, Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator in EPA’s Office of Research and Development. “This funding will allow these small businesses to take the next steps in developing their technologies and bringing them to the marketplace.”
OLIN plans to develop an engineered soil product and process that repurposes waste-stream glass into soil suitable for horticultural and green infrastructure projects. This innovation will allow cities to cost-effectively repurpose glass waste which can significantly reduce the landfilling of glass and greenhouse emissions.
“We are thrilled and honored to have this opportunity to create new healthy soils for our cities’ urban forests from materials that have historically been too difficult or too costly to recycle: mixed broken glass and food waste,” said Richard Roark, Partner, OLIN. “This work unites the need to conserve the vanishing resources of our natural sands and soils with the task of reducing the materials that constitute a quarter of our municipal waste stream. We greatly appreciate the EPA’s continued support of this promising research.”
The nine small business selected are receiving Phase II funding of up to $400,000 from the SBIR program. The companies were previously awarded a Phase I contract of $100,000 to develop innovative environmental technologies and are now receiving a Phase II award to further advance and commercialize the technology.
“We are grateful to OLIN for making strides to ensure the healthy future of our environment,” said Adam Ortiz, EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator. “EPA is proud to support the innovation of the businesses in our backyard whose reduction efforts will not only make an impact here but across the nation.”
The remaining SBIR Phase II recipients include:
- Aquagga, Inc. (Tacoma, Wash.) - For a hydrothermal alkaline treatment process for destroying PFAS in contaminated groundwater.
- Hyperion Analytical LLC (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) - For a fully automated analytical system for measurement of N-nitrosamines to support water reuse applications.
- Nikira Labs (Mountain View, Calif.) - For a sensitive, real-time, and highly selective ethylene oxide analyzer for next generation environmental monitoring.
- PKS Consulting, Inc. (Anchorage, Alaska) - For a mobile plastic ocean waste recycler that produces recycled plastic lumber products from locally collected plastic ocean waste.
- Pure Blue Tech Inc. (Seattle, Wash.) - For anti-fouling membranes integrated with polyvinylidene fluoride transducers to promote efficient water reuse.
- Quick-Med Technologies, Inc. (Gainsville, Fla.) - For long-term disinfectant coatings to kill viruses and bacteria on high-touch surfaces.
- Triangle Environmental Health Initiative, LLC (Durham, N.C.) - For a zero-waste system to maximize chemical energy potential in wastewater and produce three valuable reuse output streams.
- Verdant Structural Engineers (Berkeley, Calif.) - For straw structural insulated panel alternatives for homes and buildings to improve energy efficiency and reduce embodied carbon impacts.
Learn more about the SBIR Phase II winners: https://cfpub.epa.gov/ncer_abstracts/index.cfm/fuseaction/recipients.display/rfa_id/691/records_per_page/ALL
To learn more about EPA’s SBIR program, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/sbir
Learn more about the Federal SBIR Program: www.SBIR.gov
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