FORT MYERS, Fla. — A wood waste recycling plant that has been the site of several long-burning fires and multiple legal disputes over the last few years has a new owner.
In a release provided to Fox 4 by Senior Director of Business Development Denise Houghtaling, a deal with Veransa Group formally closed on Oct. 19 and includes MW Horticulture’s facility in Fort Myers, with an option to acquire their LaBelle facility later.
"The Fort Myers facility will be modernized under Veransa’s management and strict safety and operational procedures," the statement reads.
The facility has been the site of several fires, the most recent of which smoldered for about 10 days in April 2022. About 8 million gallons of water were used in the fighting of that fire, at a cost of about 2,000 manhours of labor.
Lee County and the company had also been mired in several back-and-forth lawsuits regarding compliance laws connected to the fires.
