PureCycle to build recycling facility in Georgia

PureCycle Technologies Inc., a plastics recycling company based in Orlando, Florida, has reached an agreement with the Augusta Economic Development Authority to build its first U.S. cluster facility in Augusta, Georgia. The company says the $440 million facility will produce ultra-pure recycled polypropylene (rPP) from polypropylene (PP) scrap. 

According to a news release from PureCycle, the 200-acre location in Augusta Corporate Park and each of the three lines will have up to 130 million pounds of annual capacity during Phase 1 of the project. The facility could expand to five lines in the future.

Augusta-Richmond County was selected based on feedstock and product delivery supply-chain efficiencies, community support, a skilled labor market and Georgia's business-friendly environment, the company says.

“We’re delighted to be working with the Augusta Economic Development Authority to establish our next polypropylene purification facility,” says PureCycle CEO Mike Otworth.

PureCycle uses licensed proprietary technology to recycle postuse PP into what the company says its ultra-pure recycled PP for applications spanning consumer goods, automotive, building and construction and industrial uses. The company says it can process a wide range of PP packaging and products with varying levels of contamination.

"We are thrilled that a solutions-oriented company like PureCycle will be joining the recycling ecosystem we're cultivating in Georgia," says Pat Wilson, commissioner for the Georgia Department of Economic Development. "I thank Gov. Brian Kemp, the state Legislature and our partners at the Augusta Economic Development Authority for helping us sustain our probusiness environment, which allows us to welcome projects like this to Georgia. "

The company says it plans to reach 1 billion pounds of production across its network by 2025, producing virgin-like rPP from end-of-life PP packaging and products. In its first phase, the facility will create 80 local jobs.

"The Augusta Economic Development Authority is excited to welcome an innovative and growing company to the Augusta Corporate Park,” says Steven Kendrick, Augusta Economic Development chairman. “As they build their facility and bring skilled jobs with better-than-average salaries to the area, they help in our overall plan of improving our park.  We look forward to welcoming our second corporate partner to the neighborhood." 

The company's flagship facility in Ironton, Ohio, is scheduled to open in 2022 and has presold more than 20 years of output. The company says both facilities will work independently but will share some of the same technology and work practices.