Custom Polymers Expands Operations in Alabama
Custom Polymers PET LLC has expanded and relocated its facility in Athens, Ala.
John Calhoun II, a partner with Custom Polymers PET, says the company has invested significantly in new processing equipment and is leasing a building from the city with the option to purchase.
Custom Polymers PET grinds, washes and pelletizes post-consumer and post-industrial PET (polyethylene terephthalate), which is then recycled into a variety of applications, including FDA-approved food grade products.
"This new facility will allow Custom Polymers PET to pelletize 25 million pounds of PET resin and wash up to 50 million pounds of PET flake annually, which ranks us as one of the largest PET processors in the United States with FDA-approval," says Byron Geiger, one of the company’s operating partners.
The new building gives the company an additional 50,000 square feet. In total, Custom Polymers PET LLC occupies approximately 200,000 square feet, with additional land for further expansion.
Custom Polymers PET LLC is an affiliate of Custom Polymers Inc., headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., with additional offices and production facilities in Houston; Chicago; Durham, N.C.; Toronto; Toluca, Mexico; and Hong Kong.
Water Bottles Hit the Bins
PET (polyethylene terephthalate) water bottles are now the most recycled container in curbside programs by weight and by number, according to the National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR), Sonoma, Calif.
The organization says the national recycling rate for PET plastic water bottles has improved by 16.42 percent. Citing data from two new studies, the group says the recycling of 0.5-liter, or 16.9-ounce, bottles is encouraging.
NAPCOR produced both studies, "2008 Post Consumer PET Bottle Bale Composition Analysis" and "2007 Report on PET Water Bottle Recycling."
According to data from an earlier 2006 bale-content study for all beverages, there were approximately 12 PET bottles per pound. In 2008, the total number of PET bottles increased to 13.78, which NAPCOR calls "a reflection of the dramatic increase in water bottle collection."
The 2007 NAPCOR study on water bottle recycling has determined that the recycling rate for water bottles is 23.4 percent, representing a 16.4 percent increase over the 2006 recycling rate of 20.1 percent.
With data compiled during a bale composition study in 15 locations in 14 states, the 2008 NAPCOR PET analysis concludes, "Water bottles are now the most recycled container in curbside programs by weight and overwhelmingly by number."
More information about the study is available at www.napcor.com.
PWP Industries Opens Plastics Recycling Plant
Vernon, Calif.-based PWP Industries, a food packaging manufacturer, has announced the opening of what it describes as one the first in-house plastics recycling facilities by a thermoforming company.
PWP will work with Coca-Cola Recycling LLC, Atlanta, to recycle PET post-consumer bottles into FDA-compliant resin for food contact. The plant will be in Mineral Wells, W.Va. The recycling facility will open in the second quarter of 2009.
PWP Industries, founded in 1998, is a PET and polypropylene food packaging thermoformer.
Explore the April 2009 Issue
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