Turning Trash to Treasure with Generate Upcycle

Bill Caesar is President at Generate Upcycle, a subsidiary of Generate Capital. 

Generate Upcycle reduces the environmental footprint of businesses, farms, cities and consumers by diverting organic waste from landfills and producing renewable fuels, electricity, and organic fertilizers. Bill's journey from the CIA to McKinsey to waste management, culminating in his role at Generate, is fascinating.

Cody and Bill talk about his journey and break down Generate Upcycle's key businesses, including anaerobic digestion, composting and mechanical vapor recompression, a relatively new method of wastewater management. Lastly, the conversation touches on areas that Bill is eyeing as disruptive technologies on the horizon. As the world population continues to grow, so will our waste footprint, and by finding profitable and lower emissions means of harnessing and reusing our waste, Generate Upcycle is betting that they can turn trash into treasure.

In this episode we cover: 

• [02:08]: Generate Upcycle's relationship with Generate Capital
• [04:30]: Bill's background: Russian studies, CIA, McKinsey, waste management
• [07:11]: His experience in waste management and recycling
• [14:01]: Moving from waste to Generate Capital
• [17:50] Bill's confidence in the anaerobic digestion business
• [23:08] His "waste to value" work at Generate Upcycle
• [26:21] An overview of anaerobic digestion
• [27:22] Generate's composting business
• [28:55] The company's wastewater treatment business
• [31:57] Logistics challenges in anaerobic digestion
• [37:47] Tipping fees
• [39:52] The percentage of waste going to landfills and the climate impact
• [43:44] Landfill diversion incentives
• [46:54] The energy outputs of Generate's digesters
• [50:44] What's on the horizon for Generate Upcycle and how folks can get in touch

Get connected: 
Bill Caesar Twitter / LinkedIn
Cody Simms Twitter / LinkedIn
MCJ Podcast / Collective

*You can also reach us via email at info@mcjcollective.com, where we encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests.

Episode recorded on Jul 26, 2023 (Published on Aug 21, 2023)

Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at info@mcj.vc.

Connect with MCJ:

• Cody Simms on LinkedIn
• Visit mcj.vc
• Subscribe to the MCJ Newsletter

*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant