Perpetual Recycling Solutions plan to open the facility in December 2012 and it will become the first plant in the US to produce and sell food grade recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate (rPET) flake for re-use in food and beverage packaging.
The plastic recycling firm will become the largest producer of food grade rPET flake in North America, distributing throughout the US and aiming to produce 110 million pounds (55,000 tonnes) annually.
Perpetual Recycling Solutions CEO, David Bender, told FoodProductionDaily.com: “We are excited to become one of the largest food grade manufactures of recycled PET plastic flake.
“This new development fills a critical void in the marketplace, and allows more merchant options for brand owners to meet their environmental objectives and sustainability efforts.”
The facility in Indiana is currently being brought up to grade and will turn PET recycled bottles and thermoforms into food grade flake.
The plastic will be obtained from curb-side collection and sold for reuse in items including soda, water and sports drink bottles.
Buyers already in place
Perpetual Recycling Solutions has several Fortune 500 companies (an annual list of US firms ranked by gross revenue) committed to buying significant volumes already, said Bender.
“We have a solid understanding of the core structure and the technology has finally evolved to make food grade flake from curbside,” he said.
“One of the best ways to be green is through use of recycled content and the new technology allows us to put it back into food items.”
Bender added: “We have been in business for more than a decade and we have learnt how to decontaminate plastic through solid processing, systemic processes and tremendous quality assurance.”
US lags behind Europe and Asia
However, Bender warned that the US is currently behind Europe and Asia in educating its consumers about the benefits of recycling.
“Plastic waste is reusable and we have to teach our kids that the water bottle they just drank or the blueberry carton they just threw in the garbage can be recycled instead of more fossil fuels being produced.”