California Safe Soil, LLC

We have unique technology to recycle supermarket food, process it with enzymes, and sell it to farms, improving soil health and crop yield.

  • Stage Full Product Ready
  • Industry Other
  • Location West Sacramento, CA, USA
  • Currency USD
  • Founded February 2012
  • Employees 6
  • Website calsafesoil.com

Company Summary

We have proprietary technology to recycle food from supermarkets into Harvest-to-Harvest™, a high nutrient soil amendment for farmers. Our pilot plant in West Sacramento, CA recycles food from Safeway, Nugget, Whole Foods and Save Mart . We have a research program at UC Davis, and have lined up many farm cooperators to run field trials of the product. We will become the preferred organics recycling and fertilizer technology in CA and the US.

Team

  • Dan Morash
    Founder

    Dan is a former investment banker, global head of energy and infrastructure for CIT, a team of 40 professionals. Dan structured complex project financings and public/private partnerships. Technologies included geothermal, waste-to-energy, wind, solar, hydro and biomass renewable power projects, as well as ethanol, anaerobic digestion, landfill gas, gasification and pyrolysis. Dan received his MBA at Dartmouth and his BA from Yale University.

  • Dave Morash
    Co-Founder

    Dave has extensive executive experience with several technology and clean-tech start-up companies. Dave was CFO of ISE Corporation, a leading manufacturer of hybrid buses; President of Axesstel, a fixed wireless company; EVP of Remec, a wireless company; EVP of Wireless Knowledge, a Qualcomm/Microsoft wireless software jv; and EVP of Safeskin, a medical devices company he took public. Dave received his MBA and his BA from Columbia University.

  • Mark LeJeune
    Chief Operating Officer

    Mark was COO of Organic Recovery, predecessor to CSS, where he built and operated a commercial scale plant and collected from 85 Publix supermarkets. Mark was Operations Manager at Bio-Gro, Inc., producing over 2 million gallons per year of liquid fertilizer products. He was Operations Manager at Synagro, operating a 500TPD composting facility. Mr. LeJeune graduated from U. of Louisiana in Environmental & Sustainable Resource Management in 2002.

  • John Erke
    Director, Supermarkets

    John Erke recently concluded a long and successful career as an engineer at Safeway. John is resident in Davis, and is a graduate of California State University, Sacramento. He helped start CSS's organics recycling program at each of Safeway, Nugget Markets (a de novo separation program), Whole Foods and Save Mart. He expects to recruit up to four more supermarkets in the coming year for organics recycling at the CSS Pilot Plant.

  • George Eowan
    Director, Regulatory Strategy

    Dr. Eowan has a career in waste management policy, to develop and implement new, innovative approaches to reduce, reuse and recycle our waste. He consults with CSS and is Director at
    Environ Strategies Consultants.

    Dr. Eowan was CEO of the California Waste Management Board from 1985-1990, where he led the development of AB 939, the nation’s premiere recycling legislation.

    He has a PhD in Public Policy from University of Southern California

  • Greg Baker
    Consultant

    Greg Baker is an experienced Agronomic Consultant specializing in soil and plant nutrition for growers. Located in Gridley, CA. Baker serves growers all over northern California, Washington and Oregon. His expertise in soil, water and plant tissue is backed by a long history as an agricultural educator to HS and College students in natural resources, ag-management and animal science. Greg earned a Masters of Agriculture from Colorado State, 2001.

  • Lee Tecklenburg
    Chief Sales Officer

    Lee has 30 years of California agricultural sales and first hand ag experience in the family farm in Lodi, CA. He brings exceptional expertise and strategic leadership to create strong sales momentum, while finding new opportunities for growth and innovation.

    For the past 13 years, Lee has been Western U.S. Senior Territory Manager for CertainTeed Corp's ag irrigation pipe systems. He began his career in ag chemicals with BASF for 17 years

  • Dr. Miguel Duarte
    Consultants

    Dr. Miguel Duarte and John Petrosso of Duarte & Associates have been engaged by CSS to conduct field trials of H2H at leading California farms. Duarte & Associates has been conducting similar field trials for California farms for the past 30 years. Their expertise includes agronomy, viticulture, pomology, plant physiology and soil science in fruits, vegetables, orchards and vineyards.

Advisors

  • Duane Morris LLP
    Lawyer
    Unconfirmed
    Marci Harmon, CPA
    Accountant
    Unconfirmed

Previous Investors

  • Hal Kamine
    Unconfirmed
    Mikael Salovaara
    Unconfirmed
    David McKerroll
    Unconfirmed

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