PureCycle adds plastic recycling prep facility in Florida

PureCycle Technologies Inc., headquartered in Orlando, Florida, says it plans to open a plastic recycling prep facility in Winter Garden, Florida. The new facility will sort and process polypropylene (PP) and is expected to increase the amount of plastic that is recycled in the central Florida region.

According to a news release from PureCycle, the new facility will sort and grind PP to be transformed into PureCycle’s ultrapure recycled PP resin at is purification site in Ironton, Ohio, as well as the facility it’s constructing in Augusta, Georgia, with construction on that site set to begin in early 2022.

The company says it anticipates operations will be running by the second quarter of 2022. Additionally, the facility will accept primarily plastic materials that have been separated from other mixed materials at other recycling operations, such as material recovery facilities (MRFs). The company tells Recycling Today that it has active negotiations for 300 million pounds of feedstock.

The new PureCycle facility will sort through the different types of plastic to isolate and prepare PP scrap for the company's purification process.

PureCycle has developed a patented technology that removes contaminants and turns PP into ultrapure recycled PP. The company says this new facility will improve access for it to identify and secure regional PP needed as feedstock to make the company’s ultrapure recycled PP resin. The company says the plastic recycling prep facility in Florida is part of its community-focused plan of action to increase the amount of plastic that gets recycled curbside. The company tells Recycling Today it has plans for additional plastic recycling prep facilities in the future. 

“Less than 1 percent of polypropylene is recycled worldwide. Our expectation is that PureCycle’s prep facility will help bolster efforts to recycle more plastic waste in the region,” says Mike Otworth, CEO of PureCycle. “Having facilities that open up a door for the recycling of discarded plastic material will help us tackle the plastic waste crisis. PureCycle is changing the game when it comes to how communities view and use plastic with our first-of-its-kind purification process that transforms No. 5 plastic waste into an infinitely sustainable material.”

Orange County Commissioner Nicole Wilson adds that PureCycle’s new facility will help the region to better recycle plastic to ensure it can be reused. “I’m thrilled this Orange County-based company is investing in their hometown and working to make us more sustainable.”