GP Harmon Recycling,  a Jericho, N.Y.-based recycling firm, has acquired The Highlands Group Inc.'s plastics recycling facility in Elizabethton, Tenn. Highland’s plastics recycling facility's operations specializes in separating polymers from mixed material streams to generate high-grade plastic raw materials that can be used for a variety of commercial purposes.

GP Harmon Recycling says that the acquisition expands the company’s recycling technologies and service offerings. Karen Cole, Georgia-Pacific’s communications manager, says the acquisition is the first acquisition of a plastics processing facility for GP Harmon. The facility is capable of processing 12 million pounds of plastics a year.

"At GP Harmon, we look to make long-term, strategic investments in areas where we can add value for our suppliers, customers and our company," says Marc Forman, president – GP Harmon Recycling. "This acquisition expands our process capabilities and reach, allowing us to offer more options to meet our supplier and customer needs and preferences, as well as accommodate growth in our plastics recycling business."

For more than 40 years, GP Harmon Recycling has been offering its expertise to the recycled paper industry by bringing together buyers and sellers in transactions involving millions of tons of recycled paper annually. The company trades more than 7 million tons of recovered fiber per year. In 2007, the company expanded its portfolio of products to include non-fiber material such as plastics and metal. GP Harmon now transacts more than 100,000 tons of non-paper recyclable material, making it one of the largest recyclable commodities traders in the world.

The Highlands Group, Inc., founded in 1988, is headquartered in Winston-Salem, N.C. The company focuses on processing injection-grade commodity resins, parts and regrind.