Editor’s Note: End markets will be featured in sessions at the 2026 Resource Recycling Conference, Feb. 23-25 in San Diego, California.
The new owners of an Iowa roofing material facility have reopened the plant nearly a year after it shut down, aiming to capitalize on regional and national upcycling trends to gain market share.
ReCB Iowa LLC opened its Des Moines production facility late last month. A joint venture between Elof Hansson USA Inc., Upcycling Group and Lisa Tech, ReCB produces Everboard building materials out of post-consumer food and beverage cartons.
The site is expected to process about 10,000 tons of upcycled cartons each year, according to Jan Rayman, ReCB’s managing director. The 800 tons per month of feedstock that are required will come largely from Iowa and the Midwest, but Rayman said materials from across the US and Canada will supplement the company’s needs when called for.
The facility is designed to support revenues in the mid- to single-digit millions annually, Rayman said, which is enough to meet demand and fund projected growth.
Opening the site required an investment Rayman declined to disclose, but work has been ongoing since ReCB acquired the former Continuus Materials site from WM in early 2025. WM shut down the plant in late 2024.
“The investment in the facility and equipment upgrades are enabling new revenue streams, increasing efficiency and strengthening our position in the market,” Rayman said. “The benefit is both financial and strategic. It allows us to deliver better roof cover boards faster and at a larger scale.”
Materials recovered in this process, including low-density polyethylene and aluminum, help reduce the carbon footprint of making building materials by around 75%, according to the Carton Council collaborative. The fact that there’s still only a 20% recovery rate among carton packages, a number that’s tripled since the council formed in 2009, means there’s a lot of opportunity for growth on multiple fronts.
“Continued access to carton recycling is essential,” said Jordan Fengel, the council’s executive director. “The facility reopening and its expansion underscores the growing momentum behind expanding domestic carton recycling infrastructure, and our commitment to helping develop sustainable, scalable end markets.”
A second production facility will open in October in Lodi, California, with three more sites in the works nationwide over the next three years. Each additional facility will open with capacity to handle more than 10,000 tons of upcycled cartons per year, with scalability built in based on demand, Rayman said. Every site, including Des Moines, will open with at least 18 full-time employees on staff.
“We are really trying to do two things,” Rayman said. “First, to help close the loop on beverage cartons by creating a strong end market for them [and] second, to make our high-performing roof cover boards available at greater volumes.”
