Republic Services announced that its second plastics processing and production hub, expected to come on-line in late 2024, will be located in Indianapolis.
The 286,000-square-foot recycling complex will consist of two buildings. One will house a Republic Services Polymer Center and the other a Blue Polymers recycled polymer production facility.
The co-located facilities are part of Republic’s larger plan to provide food-grade recycled PET, HDPE and PP pellets. The company intends to build Polymer Centers and Blue Polymers production sites in close vicinity in four regions of the country.
The company’s first Polymer Center facility is located in Las Vegas and is nearing completion, though it is not directly co-located with the Blue Polymers facility.
In an Oct. 26 investor call, Jon Vander Ark, Republic Services CEO, said the construction of the Las Vegas Polymer Center is “substantially complete, and we expect full-scale operations to begin in November.”
Brian DelGhiaccio, chief financial officer, added that the total investment for all four centers is projected to be around $300 million. Previously, the company noted that the four Blue Polymers sites could bring the company up to $32 million in annual earnings when they all come on-line.
Blue Polymers is a joint venture between Republic Services and global polymers firm Ravago. The four sites will have a combined production capability of 300 million pounds of recycled HDPE and PP annually.
Pete Keller, Republic Services vice president of recycling and sustainability, said in a statement to Resource Recycling that the plastics processing and production network will help “customers achieve their ambitious recycled content goals by producing high-quality recycled plastics.”
“As a leader in the environmental services industry and one of the nation’s largest recyclers, Republic Services is uniquely positioned to advance plastics circularity and the region’s circular economy while supporting Indianapolis’ vision for a more resilient future,” he added.
For the Indianapolis project, the Indiana Economic Development Corp. committed up to $2 million in incentive-based tax credits and up to $100,000 in workforce training grants to Republic Services, and also plans to commit up to $4 million in Hoosier Business Investment tax credits.
A version of this story appeared in Resource Recycling on Oct. 30.
