Green energy, economic growth at heart of Vinagro's pitch

Johnston Sun Rise ·

The often outspoken recycling magnate Louis Vinagro Jr. – known for his former pig farm operations, his past write-in campaign for mayor of Johnston, and his trash and reclamation businesses – has thrown his hat into the race for the Rhode Island Senate District 25 seat.

“I used to be in recycling back in the late ’70s and early ’80s and the environmental people, who really weren’t up to speed, they came and arrested me,” he said. “Now, they give awards out for what I was doing then, and I find that a problem.”

A businessman in the community for over 40 years who has had multiple encounters with the law – and who once served a 15-month prison term for failure to report company earnings, along with a stint in jail for assaulting a Department of Environmental Management officer – Vinagro has turned his campaign’s attention to green energy and environmental concerns.

“My whole thing is, I was born into the agricultural and solid waste field, and there’s nobody, and I challenge DEM, EPA, and Resource Recovery, put them all into a room and ask me any questions, and I will give them the right answer,” he said. “I challenge them all to talk to me.”

Vinagro and his brother, Joseph, created Vinagro Brothers Disposal Company, a major trash container service in Rhode Island, in the early 1970s. He later got involved as manager of Vinagro Farms, raising pigs for market.

According to the website of his latest business venture, Agro Energy Solutions, his company now manages waste-to-energy solutions and looks to expand their pig composting facility and other land uses to include solar and wind facilities, as well as aquaculture operations.

“I got my education through recycling and now I’m a developer of world green energy,” he said. “My thing is market development which will promote recycling which will promote less pollution, and everything I’m doing is part of the green movement, for safe, green energy.”

Vinagro argues that his history of corporate development will promote successful business growth in Johnston and throughout the state. He believes Johnston is uniquely positioned to be a leader in green and sustainable energy.

“My thing is, number one, which affects the whole town, is taxes. All the power plants over here are going for free with no taxes. Our taxes have been going up for the last 10 years,” he said. “In other parts of town, the issue is pollution. My whole thing is, I’m worried about air, soil, and water.”

He campaigns on a platform that his plans for market development will result in $350 million in green projects, adding more than 300 jobs to the local economy, and increasing the town’s tax revenues.

Running as an independent candidate against incumbent Frank Lombardo III, he’s hoping that his campaign slogan, “There is no future in the past,” will lead his district to a better tomorrow.