Green Current Solutions: A Unique Niche Fueled by Passion and Purpose
Story and Photos by Jonathan Turner
Loan Product: Small Business Loan
Loan Product: Small Business Loan
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At the heart of Green Current Solutions is a mission rooted in sustainability, environmental stewardship and transformative innovation.
Founded by Tammy Becker, alongside her husband Chad Pregracke, Green Current Solutions (GCS) is on the cutting edge of converting discarded plastics into something valuable and renewable, while contributing to a cleaner planet. Like Bridge Investment, Tammy is on a quest to do good. Her passion for environmental advocacy has been a long journey, intensified by her personal and professional partnership with Pregracke, who founded Living Lands & Waters (LL&W). After two decades of living on a barge and helping clean up America’s rivers with LL&W, Becker was stunned by the millions of pounds of plastics Living Lands & Waters found polluting waterways. “It has gotten better,” Becker says, noting the Mississippi River from St. Louis to St. Paul has gotten much cleaner, in no small part due to LL&W. Littering “is not socially acceptable anymore,” she adds. Boat docks and barrels in rivers are often the result of flooding, tornados or other natural disasters, she says, rather than intentional dumping. “There’s a lot better city recycling programs and things like that. It still does happen, I don’t think as much as it did,” she says. “The unfortunate thing is, now we’re not getting all these big dumps, but in exchange now, we pick up millions of 20-ounce plastic bottles.” While the two still tackle river pollution (mainly by removing trash), Tammy’s new title is CEO of Green Current Solutions, a Certified Women-Owned and Managed Business, where she and Chad work to address one of the world’s most pressing environmental crises: plastic waste. While PET plastic (used for pop bottles, for example) was easily recyclable, large, bulky, rigid plastic posed significant challenges, according to the GCS website. Becker notes that for years, LL&W was forced to send materials to the landfill, which was not only bad for the environment but also costly. “We find those things by the thousands in the river,” she laments. “Because the barge is moving all the time, that person who might take it is two states away. It just didn’t make sense.” Having to dump the bulky plastics in landfills never sat well with her. “There’s got to be something better,” Becker says, noting LL&W removes garbage from 25 rivers in 21 states. By creating GCS, she found that something – saving trees and reducing plastic waste at the same time. GCS repurposes the bulky plastics pulled from rivers into 100% recycled plastic pallets. They offer an eco-friendly alternative to traditional wood pallets, which require cutting down slow-growing hardwood trees. Becker’s love for rivers is matched by her fondness for forests, especially hardwood trees. When she learned that 43% of all slow-growing hardwoods (that take 50-80 years to mature) were being felled for single-use wood pallets, GCS created the key solution. The most widely used pallet is a soft, white-wood pallet, only getting used three to five times before they break, Becker says. Often times, those pallets are disposed of, or turned into mulch. GCS aligns perfectly with the LL&W environmental mission. Having a successful history (since 2007) of planting more than two million trees through LL&W’s MillionTrees project, Becker has been instrumental in helping plant or donate two million oaks, hickories and pecan trees nationwide. “It’s just not sustainable, it’s such a heartbreaking thing,” she says of cutting down hardwood trees for pallets. “I also coordinated that program for Living Lands for eight years, where almost all we did was give away oak trees.” By replacing wood with 100% recycled plastic pallets made by GCS, customers will not only save millions of pounds of plastics from our oceans, rivers, landfills and incinerators, they will also prevent millions of trees from being cut down. “When you trade wood pallets to plastics, you save so many trees from being cut down. Eight wood pallets typically come from one tree,” Becker says. “If a company is buying 100,000 plastic pallets, it saves 12,500 trees from being cut down.” It also cuts down on the amount of greenhouses gases released from tree removal. The production of the recycled plastic pallets releases one-fifth of greenhouses gases, versus virgin, where they make plastic from petroleum, Becker says. “It’s such an energy-intensive process to grab the oil, refine it,” she says. “We’re trying to create jobs in a distressed census tract; we’re trying to help build this community and add to the tax base. We’re creating jobs for a green project that is helping save plastics from entering our rivers, create more of a domestic need for recycled plastics. The United States shipped all its plastics to China until 2018.” - Tammy Becker, CEO, Green Current Solutions |
Tammy Becker, CEO of Green Current Solutions smiles in front of her facility located in East Moline, IL.
Photo of an actual river clean up by Living Lands & Waters, demonstrating the amount of plastics taken away from the rivers, and then reformulated into plastic pallets by Green Current Solutions. Photo courtesy of Green Current Solutions.
HDPE Pallet made by Green Current Solutions. Photo courtesy of Green Current Solutions.
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HDPE (high-density polyethylene) is the type of plastic used by GCS, whereas PET plastic is too soft and flexible to make pallets, Becker says. “High-density polyethylene is ideal because it’s more rigid, it’s strong, it’s chemical resistant. Its mechanical properties make for a better pallet.”
The connection between the two organizations is symbiotic: LL&W supplies GCS with discarded plastics, turning an environmental burden into a revenue stream that flows back to support LL&W’s continued river cleanups. Most municipal recycling centers can process plastics like laundry jugs, bottles and most household items. GCS addresses the challenge that LL&W constantly faced by handling the larger plastics that centers can’t take – such as barrels, buckets, and milk crates. There are other companies that produce similar plastic pallets, but GCS is the only one that re-uses river cleanup plastics.
Growing a new green business
Since its inception in 1998, the nonprofit LL&W has removed over 13.4 million pounds of trash from America’s rivers. “We like to tell our customers that buying our pallets helps support the mission of Living Lands & Waters to keep America’s rivers clean,” Becker says.
GCS launched in 2019, but the pandemic in 2020 slowed the start of the business. In 2021, GCS bought and renovated the former McLaughlin Body building at 401 12th Ave., East Moline, Ill. They have a 71,000-square-foot manufacturing facility and a nearby 32,000-square-foot warehouse for their shredding and grinding operations (the first steps in pallet production). The warehouse also stores the large plastic items LL&W pulls out of waterways. GCS started production in August 2023.
Most companies are moving away from wood pallets, except from shipping goods very far, where they can’t get those pallets back, Becker says.
Certain industries are more likely to use plastic pallets, such as pharmaceuticals, since wood pallets are porous and can absorb anything. “They can harbor bugs and insects,” she says. “A plastic pallet makes sense in those applications since it’s never a concern, They’re non-porous; they’re more easily sanitized.”
GCS says there are many reasons why plastic pallets are also more cost effective than wood, including:
Another complaint about wood pallets is they break easily, and protruding nails can cause injuries or tear products, Becker says. “Plastic pallets work better in an automated system, because they’re always a consistent size and weight,” she says. “A wood pallet, if it’s a humid day and you’re not in a climate-controlled space, it can absorb moisture. Broken wood shards can get into the automation system and conveyors, and can wreak havoc.” The biggest expenses for GCS came with bringing in the power to run the injection molding equipment, Becker says. It takes the shredded plastics, heats and melts them, and the plastics are injected into a mold that creates the 48-by-40-inch pallets, the industry standard size around the world. “Anything that is shipped to Walmart or Home Depot or Costco is shipped on that kind of pallet,” she says. “The tooling is super expensive, a big capital expense in itself.”
The unique GCS niche
Becker takes pride in the fact that GCS also is the world’s only Women’s Business Enterprise National Council woman-owned pallet manufacturer.
“That’s another thing that differentiates us from our competitors,” she says. “These days, a lot of big companies are trying to invest in a diverse supplier base.” Tammy’s husband Chad helps her by promoting GCS since he “knows a lot of people, who know people,” his wife says. Among Pregracke’s many honors, he was named the 2013 CNN Hero of the Year nationwide. “He helps us get in the door at a lot of different companies.” Becker says she is in a win-win situation, reflecting the true circular logo of recycling.
GCS has two full-time employees, with plans to grow its workforce. The huge injection-molding machines are automated to work on their own, including robotic arms. “Both machines can be running, pumping out pallets all day, and there’s one person on the floor,” she says. “It’s able to keep our prices down.” GCS contracts with trucking firms to ship the pallets, furthering their efforts to support indirect jobs, as most of its customers are outside its Quad Cities home base. “Everybody we talk to are big, multinational companies, so they have facilities all over the place,” Becker says.
Looking toward a greener future
GCS’s impact extends far beyond environmental benefits. The company is based in a distressed census tract and actively creates green jobs, while contributing to the local and global economy. GCS has customers and interest from around the world, and its largest client is a Minnesota-based food, agricultural and industrial product conglomerate.
Bridge Investment Community Development Corporation (Bridge Investment) played a crucial role in helping GCS get off the ground.
In 2023, as Green Current navigated the transition in financing, Bridge Investment stepped in with a much-needed small business loan. Starting the business during the global pandemic was hard, especially with delays getting equipment, Becker says. Municipal recycling centers had closed down since no one was buying plastics before then, she says. GCS also acquires recycled plastics from other suppliers.
“The loan came at a critical time, allowing us to bridge the gap between one loan and the next,” Becker says. With favorable terms, the Bridge Investment loan helped GCS with working capital to help cover expenses as they worked to become operational.
“There was this transition period where we needed funds to get us through until we closed on the next bigger loan,” she says. “That’s where the Bridge Investment loan came in and saved the day.”
Becker heard of Bridge Investment from Brian Hollenback, CEO of Rock Island Economic Growth Corp. (GROWTH), which has had a management agreement with Bridge Investment since its inception. He had helped with some of the GCS initial financing. “It does help leverage other loans,” she says. “Of course, the interest rate is awesome, which is really critical for a company like ours. Especially when interest rates were starting to go up.”
“It was interest-only payments at first, which helped,” Becker says. “I absolutely love the work that Brian does, including with Bridge Investment.”
Bridge Investment -- a certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) -- is meant to serve as a bridge forward for underserved businesses and communities.
An unwavering commitment
Becker’s journey – from working on a river barge to leading a cutting-edge recycling company – reflects her unwavering commitment to societal and environmental progress. “We’re trying to create jobs in a distressed census tract; we’re trying to help build this community and add to the tax base,” she says. “We’re creating jobs for a green project that is helping save plastics from entering our rivers, create more of a domestic need for recycled plastics. The United States shipped all its plastics to China until 2018.”
Their efforts not only mitigate the environmental impact of plastic waste, but also empower communities by boosting local jobs and economic growth through sustainable practices. “We are in an enterprise zone here, in a distressed census tract, and we are doing something green,” Becker says. “Being woman-owned, too, we check a lot of those boxes.”
As GCS continues to grow, Tammy Becker envisions a future where sustainability isn’t just an option, but the standard practice. Her work at GCS, along with Chad’s tireless legacy at LL&W, showcases a shared vision of a cleaner, greener future. GCS represents an innovative new frontier in a green industry, creating a circular economy while helping preserve the planet.
She sums up her work simply: “We’re saving trees – we love that,” Becker says. “Chad and I, I’ve always said we’re not doing this to become rich. We just want to do more good, and we’re working to make sure the company is profitable and we can use that money to just do more cool stuff for the community and for the planet.” For more information on GCS, visit www.greencurrentsolutions.com.
The connection between the two organizations is symbiotic: LL&W supplies GCS with discarded plastics, turning an environmental burden into a revenue stream that flows back to support LL&W’s continued river cleanups. Most municipal recycling centers can process plastics like laundry jugs, bottles and most household items. GCS addresses the challenge that LL&W constantly faced by handling the larger plastics that centers can’t take – such as barrels, buckets, and milk crates. There are other companies that produce similar plastic pallets, but GCS is the only one that re-uses river cleanup plastics.
Growing a new green business
Since its inception in 1998, the nonprofit LL&W has removed over 13.4 million pounds of trash from America’s rivers. “We like to tell our customers that buying our pallets helps support the mission of Living Lands & Waters to keep America’s rivers clean,” Becker says.
GCS launched in 2019, but the pandemic in 2020 slowed the start of the business. In 2021, GCS bought and renovated the former McLaughlin Body building at 401 12th Ave., East Moline, Ill. They have a 71,000-square-foot manufacturing facility and a nearby 32,000-square-foot warehouse for their shredding and grinding operations (the first steps in pallet production). The warehouse also stores the large plastic items LL&W pulls out of waterways. GCS started production in August 2023.
Most companies are moving away from wood pallets, except from shipping goods very far, where they can’t get those pallets back, Becker says.
Certain industries are more likely to use plastic pallets, such as pharmaceuticals, since wood pallets are porous and can absorb anything. “They can harbor bugs and insects,” she says. “A plastic pallet makes sense in those applications since it’s never a concern, They’re non-porous; they’re more easily sanitized.”
GCS says there are many reasons why plastic pallets are also more cost effective than wood, including:
- No disposal costs because GCS will buy back and recycle plastic pallets when they reach their end of life.
- Because you can use a plastic pallet at least 10 times more than a wood pallet, plastic pallets are less expensive than wood, per use.
- Wood pallets are messy and dangerous. The true cost of a wood pallet needs to also include the price of having a worker out due to injury from a protruding nail or wood shard. There is also time spent in cleaning up pieces of broken wood pieces off floors. Further, parts of wood pallets often get stuck in conveyor and automation systems, causing packaging and manufacturing systems to go down.
Another complaint about wood pallets is they break easily, and protruding nails can cause injuries or tear products, Becker says. “Plastic pallets work better in an automated system, because they’re always a consistent size and weight,” she says. “A wood pallet, if it’s a humid day and you’re not in a climate-controlled space, it can absorb moisture. Broken wood shards can get into the automation system and conveyors, and can wreak havoc.” The biggest expenses for GCS came with bringing in the power to run the injection molding equipment, Becker says. It takes the shredded plastics, heats and melts them, and the plastics are injected into a mold that creates the 48-by-40-inch pallets, the industry standard size around the world. “Anything that is shipped to Walmart or Home Depot or Costco is shipped on that kind of pallet,” she says. “The tooling is super expensive, a big capital expense in itself.”
The unique GCS niche
Becker takes pride in the fact that GCS also is the world’s only Women’s Business Enterprise National Council woman-owned pallet manufacturer.
“That’s another thing that differentiates us from our competitors,” she says. “These days, a lot of big companies are trying to invest in a diverse supplier base.” Tammy’s husband Chad helps her by promoting GCS since he “knows a lot of people, who know people,” his wife says. Among Pregracke’s many honors, he was named the 2013 CNN Hero of the Year nationwide. “He helps us get in the door at a lot of different companies.” Becker says she is in a win-win situation, reflecting the true circular logo of recycling.
GCS has two full-time employees, with plans to grow its workforce. The huge injection-molding machines are automated to work on their own, including robotic arms. “Both machines can be running, pumping out pallets all day, and there’s one person on the floor,” she says. “It’s able to keep our prices down.” GCS contracts with trucking firms to ship the pallets, furthering their efforts to support indirect jobs, as most of its customers are outside its Quad Cities home base. “Everybody we talk to are big, multinational companies, so they have facilities all over the place,” Becker says.
Looking toward a greener future
GCS’s impact extends far beyond environmental benefits. The company is based in a distressed census tract and actively creates green jobs, while contributing to the local and global economy. GCS has customers and interest from around the world, and its largest client is a Minnesota-based food, agricultural and industrial product conglomerate.
Bridge Investment Community Development Corporation (Bridge Investment) played a crucial role in helping GCS get off the ground.
In 2023, as Green Current navigated the transition in financing, Bridge Investment stepped in with a much-needed small business loan. Starting the business during the global pandemic was hard, especially with delays getting equipment, Becker says. Municipal recycling centers had closed down since no one was buying plastics before then, she says. GCS also acquires recycled plastics from other suppliers.
“The loan came at a critical time, allowing us to bridge the gap between one loan and the next,” Becker says. With favorable terms, the Bridge Investment loan helped GCS with working capital to help cover expenses as they worked to become operational.
“There was this transition period where we needed funds to get us through until we closed on the next bigger loan,” she says. “That’s where the Bridge Investment loan came in and saved the day.”
Becker heard of Bridge Investment from Brian Hollenback, CEO of Rock Island Economic Growth Corp. (GROWTH), which has had a management agreement with Bridge Investment since its inception. He had helped with some of the GCS initial financing. “It does help leverage other loans,” she says. “Of course, the interest rate is awesome, which is really critical for a company like ours. Especially when interest rates were starting to go up.”
“It was interest-only payments at first, which helped,” Becker says. “I absolutely love the work that Brian does, including with Bridge Investment.”
Bridge Investment -- a certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) -- is meant to serve as a bridge forward for underserved businesses and communities.
An unwavering commitment
Becker’s journey – from working on a river barge to leading a cutting-edge recycling company – reflects her unwavering commitment to societal and environmental progress. “We’re trying to create jobs in a distressed census tract; we’re trying to help build this community and add to the tax base,” she says. “We’re creating jobs for a green project that is helping save plastics from entering our rivers, create more of a domestic need for recycled plastics. The United States shipped all its plastics to China until 2018.”
Their efforts not only mitigate the environmental impact of plastic waste, but also empower communities by boosting local jobs and economic growth through sustainable practices. “We are in an enterprise zone here, in a distressed census tract, and we are doing something green,” Becker says. “Being woman-owned, too, we check a lot of those boxes.”
As GCS continues to grow, Tammy Becker envisions a future where sustainability isn’t just an option, but the standard practice. Her work at GCS, along with Chad’s tireless legacy at LL&W, showcases a shared vision of a cleaner, greener future. GCS represents an innovative new frontier in a green industry, creating a circular economy while helping preserve the planet.
She sums up her work simply: “We’re saving trees – we love that,” Becker says. “Chad and I, I’ve always said we’re not doing this to become rich. We just want to do more good, and we’re working to make sure the company is profitable and we can use that money to just do more cool stuff for the community and for the planet.” For more information on GCS, visit www.greencurrentsolutions.com.
