Republic Services Investing $150M in 22-Acre Southside Plastic Recycling Complex

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Environmental services company Republic Services is investing $150 million to build two side-by-side plastic recycling facilities on the southside of Indianapolis, with the goal of keeping more plastic out of landfills and increasing the supply of recycled material for reuse in manufacturing. 

The complex, called a Blue Polymer center, will enable more rigid plastic — materials that have caps or lids, like plastic bottles and jugs — to be recycled, said Pete Keller, vice president for sustainability and recycling at Phoenix-based Republic Services.

According to Republic officials, only about 30% of single-use plastic bottles and jugs are recycled. Even when these plastics are recycled, they're often remade into products like textiles, carpet or even construction pipe, which are harder to recycle again. That ends the plastic's life cycle.

Polymer facilities, aim to increase what's called circularity, or putting the plastic back into use as its original purpose, for instance making a water bottle into a water bottle.

"We're producing a material that isn't necessarily available in the marketplace today, recycled content, and getting that back into those same kind of manufacturing processes," Keller said. "That's circularity."

The Republic Services polymer recycling center will consist of two separate facilities on about 22 acres at 1002 W. Hanna Avenue, Keller said. The first polymer center will separate by plastics by color and food grade and process the recycled plastic to break it down to material that can be reused.

The second building will further process and purify the recycled plastic, as well as blend it with other materials, until it's ready to be shipped and sold back to companies who will use the recycled plastic in production.

Together, the two buildings make up a complex of about 286,000 square feet.

Keller said the facilities will employ 125 full-time employees and that the jobs will be highly skilled positions. Construction is underway and Republic, in partnership with Carmel-based Lauth Group, aims to have the facilities operating by late 2024.

The Indiana Economic Development Corp. (IEDC) committed up to $6.1 million total in grants — $2 million in incentive based tax credits, $100,000 in workforce training grants and $4 million in Hoosier Business Investment tax credits, which support investment in new manufacturing technologies.

The Indiana Economic Development Corp. (IEDC) committed up to $2 million in incentive-based tax credits and up to $100,000 in workforce-training grants to Republic Services, based on the company’s investment and job creation plans.  The IEDC will also commit up to $4 million in Hoosier Business Investment tax credits, which are designed to help companies invest in smart manufacturing and new technologies.

The Indianapolis location won't be the only location focused on blue polymer recycling. Republic is planning on opening three additional plastic recycling complexes in the U.S., in partnership with Luxembourg-based polymer distributor Ravago. Construction is largely complete on the first complex, which will be located in Las Vegas, Keller said.

Each location, including Indianapolis, will be able to recycle about 80,000 tons of rigid plastic per year and Keller said the "vast majority" will be put back in the marketplace to hopefully be recycled again and again.

"When I think about polymer centers and the investments that we're making, clearly there are good uses for recycled content," Keller said. "There's strong demand for it and we're making significant bets that that market demand is going to be strong for the foreseeable future."

 Courtesy: www.indystar.com