Shelly Townsend moved from Delaware to Paris, Ky., in 2007 after several personal tragedies. In just under two years, her mother, father, godfather and best friend all passed away. With these tragedies, and with a divorce thrown into the mix, Townsend was ready for a fresh start.
Shortly after she settled onto a private farm with some show horses, the recession of 2008 brought a shortage of wood shavings — the material used in horse bedding. This was made worse by a fire breaking out at the mill that supplied her with these shavings.
As the lack of materials loomed large in her mind, a light bulb went off. She figured that if we could wash the sheets people slept on, why couldn’t we wash the bedding horses used?
With this concept, Equine Eco Green was born. The company aims to offer a solution to equine waste issues by recycling horse bedding and manure and processing it into reusable materials.
“It’s a company that can make money as well as do a responsible thing for the environment,” Townsend said.
Typically, horse waste either gets composted, which is a one-time use, or it gets discarded on vacant properties, which can lead to groundwater contamination if the manure is not properly processed.
With Townsend’s method, which includes rinsing and drying the shavings, horse bedding can be reused approximately five to seven times, and possibly even more. This process, which Townsend owns a utility patent on until 2031, also cuts back on deforestation, she said.
The end result is a color-restored product that is less allergenic and free of pathogens, mold, odor and dust. Phenols — chemicals in pine that cause respiratory problems and skin irritation in horses — are also removed, making an overall safer product, according to Townsend.
Though the company hasn’t officially launched yet, the process has been perfected through years of research and development, and all permits and business models are in order. Townsend is currently working on getting start-up capital.
Despite Townsend living in Kentucky, Equine Eco Green will not begin here. Instead, she will set up shop in Wellington, Fla., for several reasons.
For one, she is partnered with the largest removal service in the Wellington area: JH Hauling and Services. This partnership guarantees Townsend 300,000 yards of material to recycle (nearly one million bags of shavings), as well as a 25-year client base already established.
Lastly, the warm weather year-round allows her to begin production without an infrastructure, which cuts back on initial costs.
“It has potential for many locations across the United States, but Florida has the immediate setup,” Townsend said. “I would love to see it in Kentucky. I think that it would be something further down the road, but it has many applications wherever there’s a heavy population of horses.”
In addition to developing reusable bedding, Equine Eco Green will produce and sell organic soil amendment and fire logs and pellets, all out of horse waste and shavings.
The property Townsend has allocated is currently a 10-mile round trip from Wellington. Previously, farm owners removing waste themselves would go on a 52-mile round trip, littered with unpaved roads, to dump their waste into sugarcane fields, which was not cost effective fuel-wise and was damaging their equipment, she said.
Townsend saw an opportunity in Wellington to establish a more convenient disposal ground, and she took it.
“Everything’s set up,” she said. “It’s zoned, it’s permitted, with utilities and storm water management in place, security fencing — it’s all there.
“It’s about the environment. It’s about being responsible. It’s about doing something innovative,” she added.
Townsend attributes much of her innovative thinking to growing up around many “go-getters,” such as her entrepreneurial grandfather and a godfather who helped with the discovery of Our Lady of Atocha, a Spanish treasure ship that sank off the Florida Keys in 1622.
Growing up in Delaware, her family owned a sawmill and were in the poultry business. Having to deal with strict regulations put forth to protect against pollution in the Chesapeake Bay, she became well aware of the negative effects the chicken industry could have on the environment.
“That all led me to know and understand that it’s going to get worse for horse people as well,” she said.
Townsend believes Equine Eco Green is a win-win for the environment, but her sense of accomplishment won’t be fully satisfied until the company officially launches.
“I want to get this off the ground,” she said. “It’s not about having a patent and a plaque on the wall. That’s not my idea of success.”