US and Canada to add major processing capacity

The new NERC report includes 15 new and 10 expanding facilities processing recycled plastics in North America. | Warut Chinsai/Shutterstock

The North American plastics recycling sector is poised to add over 1 billion pounds of annual capacity, according to a group charting processing growth.

The Northeast Recycling Council (NERC) this month published a report charting recycled plastic processing capacity increases in North America, including both new facilities and plant expansions. Citing company announcements, media reports and more, the NERC resource lists facility locations, capacity expansion figures where available, materials processed and more.

The analysis shows expansions and new facilities that were announced or completed in 2017 and later. It includes 15 new and 10 expanding facilities.

Overall, for the projects that have released estimated capacity figures, the resource lists 1.1 billion pounds of additional scrap plastic processing capacity coming on-line through the planned and completed projects. This capacity spans numerous polymers, both post-consumer and post-industrial, with LDPE having the most planned capacity, according to NERC.

The bulk of growth is taking place in the western part of North America, NERC noted, with six projects in California, one in Nevada and one in British Columbia. The South also has an influx of planned projects, with four in South Carolina and one each in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and North Carolina.

Plastics Recycling Update has written about the following projects that appear on the list: