US recycling specialist PureCycle Technologies (Orlando, Florida; www.purecycle.com) has announced that it will build a USD 440m (EUR 372m) polypropylene reclaim facility in the US city of Augusta, Georgia. The three-line plant is expected to have a capacity of nearly 59,000 t/y and create more than 80 jobs. No start-up date was announced, and the company said the facility could eventually be expanded with another two lines if needed.

A Purecycle spokesperson told Plasteurope.com that the plant will take in agglomerated carpet fibres and a variety of additional feedstocks. The US company uses recycling technology developed and licensed by compatriot consumer goods behemoth Procter & Gamble (P&G, Cincinnati, Ohio; www.us.pg.com – see Plasteurope.com of 09.08.2017).

PureCycle CEO Mike Otworth said, “Demand is continuing to outpace supply as brands seek sustainable materials for their products. Our Augusta operation will be pivotal in our quest to help solve for the plastics waste crisis.”

The recycler said construction on the company’s US flagship facility in Ironton, Ohio, is well underway and has already pre-sold more than 20 years of output. Output of rPP is expected to be nearly 48,000 t/y.

Purecycle noted in March that it completed a “business transaction” with Roth Capital Partners to provide funding and access to capital markets (see Plasteurope.com of 24.11.2020). After the deal, the recycler (symbol: PCT) listed on the US Nasdaq stock exchange. On 4 August 2021, company shares closed valued at less than half of what they were worth at the end of their first day of trading on 19 March.