EcoScraps, a leading provider of organic, chemical- and manure-free lawn and garden products, today announced it received $1.5 million in series A venture financing. The round's lead investor was Utah-based KickStart. Other institutional investors included California-based DBL Investors and Utah-based Peterson Ventures.

"This represents a significant round of financing for EcoScraps and will be used to expand our products into new markets, continue developing our line of products, and attract new talent to our growing team," said EcoScraps CEO and co-founder Dan Blake. "Americans generate more than 30 million tons of food waste each year. Our company offers a sustainable solution to repurposing leftover fruits and vegetables."

EcoScraps diverts produce waste taken from local grocery stores and restaurants away from landfills, and turns it into compost and other lawn and garden products. The company's no-chemical, no-poop products are not only sustainable and contain twice the amount of essential soil nutrients than typical manure- and chemical-based soil products on the market, but are safe for kids and pets too.

"The strong support and adoption of EcoScraps is not surprising," said Clarke Miyasaki, managing director at KickStart. "Their business model is truly unique and profitable. By repurposing organic waste that would ordinarily sit in landfills, they have zero cost raw materials that keep costs down while creating an extremely high quality product. We see EcoScraps leading a new generation of environmentally-friendly and highly profitable companies in America."

"EcoScraps is perfectly positioned to become an industry leader," said Ben Capell, principal at Peterson Ventures. "The company's business model is unique and goes beyond anything we've seen. EcoScraps has gained an incredible amount of traction over the past year. The company's growing retail base already includes some of the nation's largest home improvement stores."

Founded just two years ago, EcoScraps is now manufacturing its products in Utah, Arizona and California. Currently, the company sells its sustainable manure- and chemical-free organic compost throughout Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and California.

"EcoScraps is led by a strong management team and is addressing the fast-growing market for green lawn and gardening products. Today's consumers want beautiful gardens that are also good for the planet, and EcoScraps is poised to become the leader in answering this important need," said Nancy Pfund, managing partner at DBL Investors. "We are pleased to support the mission of EcoScraps and are confident in its future growth."

EcoScraps is an organic lawn and garden products manufacturer that was established in 2010. Its process recycles food waste into nutrient-rich products that help plants grow healthier in the most environmentally friendly way possible. EcoScraps has received several awards in its short history, including the 2010 Sparkseed Innovator honor, 2010 SOCAP Scholar and was named as one of the "Top 25 Most Promising Social Ventures in America" by Businessweek. To learn more about EcoScraps, visit: ecoscraps.com.