Blue Polymers selects Buckeye, Arizona, for recycled plastics facility

Blue Polymers LLC plans to build its second recycled plastics production facility in Buckeye, Arizona, to advance plastics circularity and support sustainable packaging.

The 162,000-square-foot facility is expected to create more than 60 permanent local jobs when it opens in the second half of 2025, according to Blue Polymers. This facility joins the previously announced Indianapolis location as part of the firm’s network of four regional recycled plastics production facilities.

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Blue Polymers says it will specialize in processing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) recycled products suitable for sustainable packaging and other applications requiring increased recycled content. PE, commonly found in milk jugs and laundry detergent containers, and PP, used in consumer packaging like margarine tubs and yogurt containers, will be processed and formulated into high-quality drop-in solutions for the packaging industry.

Phoenix-based waste and recycling company Republic Services, a joint venture partner in Blue Polymers, concurrently is developing a network of recycling sortation facilities called Polymer Centers, which produce high-quality, color-sorted recycled plastic feedstock directly from Republic’s national curbside collection business. Each Polymer Center will be linked with a Blue Polymers facility to promote plastics circularity and sustainable packaging.

The Buckeye facility will process feedstock from Republic’s Las Vegas Polymer Center, which has been operational since late 2023.

“As demand rises for domestically sourced, high-quality recycled plastics, many consumer packaged goods [CPG] companies are committing to incorporating more recycled content into their packaging designs," Blue Polymers says in a news release. "At the same time, five states have implemented minimum recycled content standards for single-use packaging. Blue Polymers’ facilities aim to support genuine package-to-package circularity, with an annual production target of 300-plus million pounds of recycled resins.”