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Saving Green to Stay Green with the Florida Recycling Loan Program

Apr 2021

Since 1966, Marpan Supply/Marpan Recycling has been a family-owned small business in Tallahassee, Florida. Starting out as a container services company providing dumpster and trash compactor rentals, Marpan Supply expanded in 1968 to include lightbulb recycling and received a contract with the state of Florida.

When Kim Williams became president in 1985, he learned of the contamination in the Florida Everglades as a consequence of fluorescent lamp ballasts in landfills. Williams and Marpan Vice-President, Larry Lassiter, went to Sweden to inquire about a new process for recycling fluorescent lamps. After confirming the system worked, Williams lobbied the Florida Legislature in 1992 and 1993 until a law was passed requiring the recycling of commercial use fluorescent lamps.

In 2008, Marpan Recycling was created and, with the help of the Florida Recycling Loan Program (FRLP) through Florida First Capital, equipment was purchased to establish Tallahassee’s first material recovery facility.

The FRLP was created to provide Florida businesses with low-cost, long-term, fixed interest rate financing in order to expand industrial recycling activities throughout the state. The program is designed to assist companies that manufacture products from recycled materials or convert recyclable materials into raw materials for use in manufacturing. Loan proceeds may be used for the purchase/refinance and installation of machinery/equipment and the conversion of existing machinery/equipment.

By 2009, through a public-private partnership between Leon County and Marpan, 67% of the waste previously sent to a landfill was being recycled and Marpan was processing nearly 300 tons of material per month through their sorting line.

As Marpan Recycling grew, so did the need for additional equipment and machinery to sort and process the materials. In 2017, Marpan turned again to the FLRP for not one, but two equipment loans to purchase a baler for scrap metal and sorting/screening equipment to process material more efficiently and create cleaner products to send to market.

“The long-term goal of the Florida Recycling Loan Program is to divert solid waste from landfills,” said Florida First Capital Business Development Officer, Stacey Green. “Low cost, fixed interest rate funding is available to help companies expand their recycling businesses or retrofit manufacturing operations to recycle secondary materials.”

In 2021, Marpan is again working with Florida First Capital on a new recycling loan to upgrade equipment, enabling them to process the volume of material they receive on a daily basis.

By keeping materials out of the landfill, Marpan helps sustain markets for recycled materials. Every ton of materials recovered equals one less ton of raw materials that must be grown, mined or manufactured. Additionally, the Marpan facility was built to be green, using energy-efficient lighting and high-efficiency engines to power their operations.

Marpan Recycling is recognized as a leader in the industry and Kim Williams has been named a 2021 inductee into the Construction and Demolition Recycling Hall of Fame.

The FRLP provides fixed interest rate loans as low as to 2% below Prime. Loan amounts range from $20,000 to 200,000. Businesses must be for-profit, legally licensed and operating in Florida; creditworthy start-up companies; or out-of-state firms considering expansion into Florida. Eligible businesses also must have a tangible net worth under $15 million have fewer than 100 employees.

The FRLP operates under a partnership between the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and Florida First Capital, the program administrator. Florida First Capital is a non-profit certified development company that promotes economic development and job creation throughout Florida by working with the Small Business Administration (SBA) and private-sector lenders to provide available and affordable financing to small businesses. Florida First Capital also lends under the SBA 504 loan program as well as other small business assistance programs.

For more information or to apply, visit www.ffcfc.com/Florida-Recycling-Loan-Program or call us toll-free at 888.320.5504 or 850.681.3601.