Circularix starts operations at Pennsylvania facility

Circularix, a producer of food-grade postconsumer polyethylene terephthalate (PET), has started production at its plant in Hatfield, Pennsylvania. The facility will produce about 55 million pounds of food-grade recycled PET (rPET) pellets from recycled PET flakes.

According to Circularix, the Hatfield plant is the first of five U.S.-based recycling facilities that it plans to operate. The company says it plans to produce 275 million pounds of rPET pellets per year across all five facilities. 

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“We are operational at our Hatfield facility and on schedule to complete our U.S. expansion,” says Leon Farahnik, chairman and CEO of Circularix. “Our commitment is first and last to helping companies meet their sustainability goals as together we contribute concretely and responsibly to a sustainable future.” 

Farahnik tells Recycling Today he expects the next site, which is in Ocala, Florida, to be operational by the second quarter of the year. After that, the company plans to open sites in Texas, Arizona and the Pacific Northwest. He says all locations are close to Circularix's customer base.

In June 2022, Circularix initially announced the formation of its joint venture with Macquarie Group, a provider of risk management, market access and capital solutions. Macquarie formed its Sustainable Waste Solutions team in 2020 to provide finance and growth capital solutions to clients in the waste sector, with a focus on helping to advance the circular economy.

"We have a great team of people, and that's what makes us different," Farahnik says. "We have a lot of experience in recycling. We are very familiar with recycling, the good and the bad."

He adds that Circularix aims to meet packaging producers' demand for postconsumer content.

"We're trying to have more rPET available for brands and packaging companies to be able to reach their goals of sustainability," Farahnik says.