MBold partner Myplas named EDAM 2023 "Project of the Year"

MBold, a coalition of Minnesota-based food and agriculture business leaders and developers, has announced that its partner, plastics recycler Myplas USA, has been awarded the Economic Development Association of Minnesota’s (EDAM) “Project of the Year” award for 2023.

With investment from MBold members and other stakeholders, Myplas USA is establishing a $24 million flexible film recycling plant in Rogers, Minnesota, that Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota-based economic development partnership Greater MSP says will employ around 270 people when at full capacity. The organization adds that the new facility is South Africa-based Myplas’ first in the U.S.

The Myplas USA project is the result of a collaboration led by the MBold coalition, which is an initiative of Greater MSP. The organization says that coalition members General Mills, Schwan’s Company, Target, Ecolab, Cargill and the University of Minnesota are working across the value chain to catalyze a regional circular economy for flexible films and packaging materials such as pallet wrap, shrink wrap, boat wrap and various kinds of food packaging.

“This project puts Minnesota on the cutting edge of both innovation and sustainability, while securing our position as a competitive and collaborative market for foreign direct investment,” says Peter Frosch, president and CEO of Greater MSP. “Thanks to this unique collaboration, we are able to tackle a large-scale sustainability challenge while creating jobs.”

Greater MSP says the new initiative will expand film recycling infrastructure and increase the supply of recycled resin for use in new film products, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and curtailing waste.

Myplas’ new 170,000-square-foot mechanical recycling plant is set to begin operations this summer, and the company says it aims to recycle nearly 90 million pounds of low- and high-density polyethylene packaging and film annually at full capacity.

According to Greater MSP, the MBold initiative includes a combined $9.2 million equity investment in Myplas USA by lead investors General Mills, Schwan’s Company and Wisconsin-based film manufacturing partner Charter Next Generation, and supporting investors Target and Ecolab.

“We are delighted that Myplas has been chosen as EDAM’s ‘Project of the Year,’” MBold Managing Director JoAnne Berkenkamp says. “This recognition highlights that this type of innovative collaboration is just what the region needs to drive environmental sustainability while also creating economic opportunity.”