Circulus facility interior.

Houston-based film recycler Circulus is set to be acquired by Dow. | Courtesy of Circulus

Dow plans to acquire mechanical recycler Circulus for an undisclosed amount, bringing a total capacity of about 55,000 short tons per year of processing volume under Dow’s umbrella.

Circulus is based in Houston and was funded by private equity firm Ara Partners. It started up operations at a Riverbank, California, location during the third quarter of 2021 and has added two more sites in the following years. 

The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2024, Dow said. The move comes as Dow works toward its circular economy goals of creating 3.3 million short tons of “plastic waste and other forms of alternative feedstocks” each year by 2030, a press release noted. 

“Dow’s expertise in materials science and high-performance resins combined with Circulus’ mechanical film recycling capability will allow Dow to enhance its offerings in applications, such as collation shrink packaging, stretch film, liners and select food packaging, to a wider range of applications in the industrial, consumer and transportation markets,” the press release stated. 

In January, Circulus received an FDA letter of no objection for producing post-consumer LDPE at its Ardmore, Oklahoma, reclamation plant. 

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