— By Plasteurope.com staff — 

Brightmark (San Francisco, California, USA; www.brightmark.com) has announced that several subsidiaries of its Ashley, Indiana, operation have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The renewable energy development company said in a statement that the Ashley plant had “received commitments for sufficient liquidity to continue day-to-day operations, and the filing is not intended to have any impact on the employment of the more than 90 employees at the facility. Approval of those commitments is being sought by bankruptcy court.”

The reorganisation is specific to the Ashley plant, which can process 100,000 t of plastics waste into pyrolysis oil, and will not affect other areas of Brightmark’s business, the company said. Although the firm did not cite specific reasons for the filing, media reports suggest that the move is related to debtors allegedly owing hundreds of millions of dollars.

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Bob Powell, Brightmark’s founder and CEO, stated, “Today’s filing allows us to take control of our future. This strategic move is designed to ensure the long-term viability of the Ashley facility and enables us to grow our business sustainably. We are excited about the future of our plastics business, and our commitment to it and the Ashley community is unwavering.” Powell also mentioned progress on the company’s circularity centre in Thomaston, Georgia, which is moving forward with the air permit process.

Brightmark had previously planned to build the world’s largest advanced plastics recycling and renewal facility in Macon-Bibb County, Georgia. However, the project collapsed in 2022 after the company failed to meet a deadline to deliver recycled end products from its Ashley plant.