Houston plastics recycler to invest $10 million in LDPE film recycling plant

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Houston-based plastics recycler Avangard Innovative LP has announced its decision to invest $10 million on a new low density polyethylene (LDPE) film recycling plant. The new facility, located at the company’s facility in Houston, will produce high-quality postconsumer resin (PCR) from LDPE film packaging scrap.

The 35,000 square-foot state-of-the-art recycling plant is expected to create around 30 jobs in the region. The plant is expected to incorporate latest technologies in extrusion, filtration and odor reduction. Also, the plant will employ optical sorting techniques for better results. The works are scheduled to begin before June this year. The first production from the plant is expected to take place in August. The plant is expected to become fully operational by end-August this year. Once fully operational, the plant will have an annual production capacity of 48 million pounds.

The company currently manages to collect approximately 100 million pounds of recycled LDPE through organized collection from various sources including retailers and other generators of PE waste. The collected PE waste are currently traded and sold in open market. According to the company, the collected LDPE film packaging scrap will be fed into the facility to create recyclable LDPE pellets.

Mark Patin, general plant manager for Avangard noted that the new plant will help the company to complete a cycle of waste stream. The move is expected to foster vertical integration of the company. It must be noted that the expansion and investment comes at a time when lower commodity prices are forcing many prominent players to go out of business. The multi-million dollar investment will help the company to better manage one of the largest streams of material, Patin added.

Recently, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) had launched a new initiative to boost recycling of LDPE film plastics, linear low density polyethylene and medium and high density polyethylene. The campaign, backed by Flexible Film Recycling Group (FFRG) under the American Chemistry Council (ACC), is aimed at educating residents to take back their plastic bags and wraps to participating stores for recycling. The campaign, a part of Wrap Recycling Action Program (WRAP), is expected to boost plastic film recycling rates, according to DEEP.

Due to its flexibility and other properties, LDPE is mainly used to manufacture films such as garment and produce bags, agricultural films, refuse sacks, and packaging films, foams and bubble wrap. It is also used as flexible lids, flexible bottles, wire and cable applications, bottle tops, and irrigation pipes.

Avangard Innovative LP is a worldwide premier sustainable solutions provider, headquartered in Houston, Texas. It helps clients in effectively identifying and efficiently collecting recyclable materials, as well as working with them to reduce or reclaim spent resources in daily operations. As one of the largest recyclers in North America and Latin America, Avangard offers full-service recycling solutions at all levels of the process. The plastic recycler’s Natura Zero Program is a specialized program that identifies recyclable waste opportunities, tracks results, and creates additional or enhanced revenue stream.