Newsworthy

Recent news from the various sectors of the recycling industry from our May 2025 issue.

Recycling Today "Newsworthy" header.

© Wosunan | stock.adobe.com

Plastics

IRG cancels plans for Pennsylvania PRF

A planned $300 million plastics recycling facility (PRF) to be built in Erie, Pennsylvania, has been canceled by the Erie-based International Recycling Group Inc. (IRG), according to an Erie Times-News report.

IRG Erieannounced plans for a PRF project in August 2020.

In 2022, IRG purchased 25 acres of land in Erie that previously hosted a Hammermill Paper site. The 350,000-square-foot PRF had planned to mechanically recycle polyethylene terephthalate, polypropylene and high-density polyethylene, converting roughly 160,000 tons of the postconsumer plastic into 100,000 tons of recycled plastic pellets and flakes per year.

In 2022, IRG founder and CEO Mitch Hecht told Recycling Today all inventory management would occur under one roof. The PRF was designed to accept all forms of postuse plastics, including cups, lids, tubs and other single-use plastics sourced mainly from material recovery facilities. In addition to bale-breaking and sorting equipment, the site would use shredding, washing and pelletizing equipment.

IRG got financial backing from several sources to aid in the facility’s construction, including a combined $9 million investment from Erie Insurance and the Erie-based Plastek Group. In 2022, the company was offered a $5 million Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant and a $509,000 Rail Freight Assistance Program grant from the state. It also reported receiving a $300,000 loan from the Erie County Redevelopment Authority that year.

In July 2024, IRG was selected for a conditional commitment for a loan guarantee of up to $192 million from the Department of Energy Loan Programs Office that would help finance the PRF. According to the Erie Times-News report, the loan was never finalized, and the remainder of the funds needed for construction were not raised.

In a statement on behalf of IRG summarized in the report, the company says it encountered fundraising challenges, among other factors, such as “recently announced tariffs on materials and on equipment from Europe not made in the U.S., resulting in expectations of substantially higher project development costs than anticipated, as well as difficulties in securing long-term purchase agreements for recycled materials from plastics manufacturers and consumer product groups, many of whom are cutting back on sustainability pledges.”

The Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership (ERCGP) put out a statement indicating it is “frustrated” by the growing financial pressure given the economic uncertainty being created at the federal level that factored into the decision not to move forward with the PRF.

“We recognize the significant economic opportunities it could have brought to Erie,” says Brandon Mendoza, CEO of ERCGP.

“This project had significant support at the state and local level, across public and private sectors, and to see it pulled is a significant loss.

“As always, we remain committed to advocating for sustainable investment and working to attract new business opportunities, but the opportunity cost to develop such an enormous project with all pieces aligned to end like this is a disappointing outcome.”

The ERCGP states that it plans to reach out to the governor’s office to talk about keeping IRG’s $5 million RCAP investment in Erie for other projects and also says it is in contact with local legislators regarding the project.



In Memoriam: Danny Rifkin

Rifkin, circa 2013,
pictured in his
MetalX office.
Photo by Jeff Bell

Danny Rifkin, founder of MetalX and a scrap industry veteran, died April 1 at age 70, surrounded by family.

A native of Fort Wayne, Indiana, Rifkin was a well-known and respected business leader, entrepreneur and philanthropist.

He graduated from Elmhurst High School in Fort Wayne in 1972, then studied at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania before earning his degree from the University of Miami in 1977.

Rifkin began his career at OmniSource Corp. in Fort Wayne, eventually becoming president and CEO of the scrap metal recycling company that his family established in 1943. He also was a founding member of Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI), also based in Fort Wayne.

After SDI acquired OmniSource in 2007, Rifkin held several roles, including executive vice president, president and chief operations officer of the company’s Metals Recycling Segment, along with serving as a board member.

In 2008, after leaving SDI, he launched North River Capital, a private equity firm based in Fort Wayne. In 2012, Rifkin founded MetalX LLC, also based in Fort Wayne, with his son, Neal.

The Rifkins sold MetalX’s ferrous scrap business in late 2021 to Australia-based BlueScope and began to focus on nonferrous scrap.

“Our plan is to execute a growth strategy focused as a nonferrous company,” Rifkin said at that time. “We have been working on developing a more extensive nonferrous strategy. … We see tremendous opportunity for the future in the nonferrous segment, especially related to copper and aluminum.

“So, as the world moves towards more electrification and lighter weight, and as the use of copper and aluminum becomes more prevalent in everything, we see that as an outstanding opportunity for long-term growth for the company.”

In late 2022, MetalX acquired the assets and business of secondary aluminum melter SRT Aluminum in Wabash, Indiana, which converts aluminum scrap into specification remelt scrap ingot in sow and ingot form. The company also selected a 190-acre site in Defiance, Ohio, in early 2024 to construct an aluminum recycling campus, the plans for which include an aluminum slab manufacturing plant, a scrap shredding and advanced sorting facility and a dedicated logistics hub, in partnership with Louisville, Kentucky-based Manna Capital Partners.

Rifkin’s philanthropy efforts included founding and leading the Fort Wayne Center for Learning, helping children with learning differences access support. He also served as a trustee of the Rifkin Family Foundation, which has supported many causes close to the family’s heart.

Rifkin supported Jewish life and education, including his local congregation, the Jewish Federation of Fort Wayne and the preservation of Holocaust memorials. His commitment to these causes was deeply rooted in his values, identity and desire to give back to the institutions that shaped him and his family, according to a news release from MetalX.

“Danny will be remembered for his vision, generosity and lasting impact—in business, in community and in the hearts of all who knew him,” the company says.

May 2025
Explore the May 2025 Issue

Check out more from this issue and find your next story to read.