US renewable energy development company Brightmark (San Francisco, California / USA; www.brightmark.com) announced that it will build what it is calling the world’s largest advanced plastics recycling and renewal facility in Macon-Bibb County, Georgia / USA, to recycle and convert all types of plastics waste into fuel.

The new Georgia plant, to be situated on a roughly 492,000 m² site has a total investment of more than USD 680m (EUR 559m) and will convert 400,000 t/y of mixed plastics waste into 64m gallons (242.2m litres) of ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel and naphtha blend stocks, and 20m gallons (75.7m litres) of wax. Both facilities will employ a state-of-the-art and proprietary plastics renewal process from Brightmark that recycles all plastics waste types, including such that cannot readily be recycled. It will process the polymers in various forms including film, flexible packing, styrofoam, beverage cups, car seats and children’s toys.

In April 2021, the company announced that its first plastics renewal facility, in Ashley, Indiana, will divert 100,000 t of polymer waste each year from landfills, waterways and incinerators when it becomes operational by the end of 2021.

Brightmark’s proprietary closed loop solution is a form of pyrolysis invented by US energy technology company RES Polyflow (Chagrin Falls, Ohio), now owned by Brightmark. The process can convert 93% of the waste stream into new products. Brightmark is working with suppliers of plastics waste in the region to secure feedstock supply, and it plans to hire over 100 people to fill engineering, maintenance and operational positions.

The company is a member of the American Chemical Council’s (ACC, Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) “Advanced Recycling Alliance for Plastics” (see Plasteurope.com of 11.05.2020).