Synagro’s History
Synagro is North America’s leader in the safe, reliable, environmentally responsible recycling of biosolids.
Our company began with a small group of passionate environmentalists responsibly partnering with our customers to find recycling and beneficial use for biosolids to comply with new clean water regulations. Along the way, we combined Bio Gro’s portfolio of land application, thermal dryers and composting facilities with Synagro’s experience in land application, thermal reduction and rail movement of biosolids. This combination yielded the only company of its kind, constantly striving to provide more environmentally sound solutions for our customers and the communities we serve and in which we live.
Timeline Key:
Legislative and Regulatory
Bio Gro
Synagro (Pre-Acquisition)
Synagro (Combined Entities)
1970
1974
The Clean Water Act passes, removing biosolids from water treatment plant discharges, dramatically increasing the production of biosolids.
1978
Bio Gro is founded to help municipalities find biosolids solutions driven by the passage of The Clean Water Act.
1986
Synagro is founded in Houston, Texas.
1988
Congress enacts the Ocean Dumping Ban Act, including prohibition of at-sea disposal of industrial and medical wastes. The U.S. EPA phases out at-sea dumping of sewage sludge.
1990
Bio Gro has become the leading provider of beneficial use biosolids management services in North America, recycling more than 5 million wet tons of biosolids and other organic by-products annually for over 275 generators across the U.S. and Canada.
1991
Bio Gro joins the Waste Management family as a division of Wheelabrator Water Technologies, Inc. linking Bio Gro’s large land application and biosolids services strength with Wheelabrator’s excellence in in-vessel composting.
1992
Wheelabrator purchases Enviro-Gro Inc., a Baltimore-based company that is a leader in thermal drying technologies for biosolids. The combined entities became the only biosolids management company with a national footprint and industry-leading expertise in biosolids services, composting and thermal drying.
1991-1993
Bio Gro’s biosolids experts work in partnership with the U.S. EPA to craft the landmark Federal “503” regulations, ensuring the environmentally conscious and safe disposal and recycling of biosolids nationwide.
1993
The Standards for the Use or Disposal of Sewage Sludge (40 CFR 503) becomes effective.
2000
Synagro rapidly expands its biosolids management business with the purchase of Rehbein, Inc., giving Synagro a strategic presence in the Midwest, and the biosolids operations of Whiteford Environmental Services, a Maryland-based biosolids services company.
2000
2000
2000
2011
2013
2016
2017
Synagro enters Canada, winning the contract to design, build, own and operate a new thermal drying facility in Hamilton, Ontario. Later wins in operating the Windsor, Ontario dryer (2018) and leading the design, build, ownership and operation of a world-class biosolids drying facility in Victoria, British Columbia, to become operational in 2021 affirms Synagro’s leadership in the Canadian biosolids market.
2019
Synagro experiences a period of aggressive organic growth, and adds to its extensive portfolio with two acquisitions. Adding Old Line Environmental, Inc. bolsters Synagro’s biosolids management footprint in the Mid-Atlantic, and brings more than a dozen employees, each with more than 20 years of biosolids experience.
2020
Synagro acquires Pace Dewatering Systems, an Edmonton, Alberta, Canada supplier of centrifuge technology, expanding its position as North America’s largest and most capable biosolids management company. The acquisition adds 13 centrifuges, a centrifuge-repair unit, and personnel with more than 30 years of biosolids dewatering experience.
2020
Synagro is purchased by West Street Infrastructure Partners III, an infrastructure investment fund managed by Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking division.
2021
Synagro is selected as a 2021 Top Workplace in Maryland by The Baltimore Sun.
2022
Synagro acquires LimeCorp, LTD, an Ohio-based a premier provider of lime-residual management and land-application services for industrial and municipal customers, expanding its lime-residual management and land-application services, and also broadening its client base in the region.
2022
2022
2023
Synagro acquires Burch Hydro, Inc., a Ohio-based premier provider of biosolids and lime-residuals management and land-application services specializing in digester cleaning and dewatering services adding 20-plus municipal customers.
2023
2023
2024
2024
2024
Synagro expands its biosolids and organics composting capabilities to serve the greater-New Jersey markets and the Charleston and Columbia, South Carolina, markets.
2024
2024
