Plastics
Republic to build third Polymer Center in Pennsylvania
Republic Services Inc. has selected Pennsylvania for the site of its third Polymer Center.
According to Pete Keller, the Phoenix-based waste and recycling company’s vice president of recycling and sustainability, the Polymer Center parcel, near Allentown, spans approximately 10 acres.
An associated Blue Polymers facility in Allentown will be operated by joint venture partner Ravago, a Luxembourg-based plastic recycling and distribution company.
Keller tells Recycling Today that site preparation work has begun for the new Polymer Center, with building construction scheduled to begin in late October. He says equipment installation could begin in April 2026, with the facility expected to be operational by the end of that year.
Keller notes that the Pennsylvania location is a sound fit logistically and in terms of available material.
“The Northeast is a large population center with a high volume of material and lots of demand for that material,” Keller says. “There’s also a lot of conversion capacity, with a number of bottlers in the region. Early indications are that demand for our rPET [recycled polyethylene terephthalate] flake will be strong.
“With our existing Las Vegas and Indianapolis facilities, Allentown will help us continue to build out our national hub-and-spoke Polymer Center network,” he adds.
The Polymer Center and the Blue Polymers facilities in Allentown and Indianapolis are designed to work together to produce more than 175 million pounds per year of recycled plastics for use in food-grade packaging and other applications.
The facilities mechanically process postconsumer plastics collected from homes and businesses, including PET, high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and polypropylene (PP). At each facility, PET is shredded and washed to produce rPET flake for use in new beverage bottles, while HDPE and PP are sorted by color and type and sent to Blue Polymers to be compounded, blended and pelletized, creating custom drop-in products for customers.
The first Polymer Center opened in December 2023 in Las Vegas, and the second facility, co-located with a Blue Polymers plant in Indianapolis, opened in March.
Though the Allentown facilities will not be co-located as they are in Indianapolis, Keller says the Polymer Center’s design will be “essentially identical” to the Indianapolis site, which has a nameplate capacity of 80,000 metric tons per year.
During the company’s July 29 second-quarter earnings call, Republic CEO John Vander Ark noted that both Polymer Center locations are operating and the company continues to learn from its experience processing material at these sites.
“Certainly, we had some learning curve [in Las Vegas] in terms of exactly the quality specs our customers wanted and getting that communication clear,” he said. “I think Vegas is making great progress.
“And then, Indy is hitting its mark because we’ve taken all the learnings from Las Vegas and built those into Indianapolis. Then, we’ll leverage all those learnings, of course, in Pennsylvania for a third center as well. So, I feel very excited that we’re capturing the benefits of those learnings.
“And we have the supply. That’s one of the reasons we did it,” Vander Ark continues.
“And the demand for the product is through the roof. The world is short supply. The country is short supplied on recycled PET.
“I still feel very confident about the returns profile of this over time.”
Metals
Aluminum Dynamics plans facility in Benson, Arizona
The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) has posted notice of a permit application submitted by the Aluminum Dynamics business unit of Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI), Fort Wayne, Indiana, to build a recycled-content aluminum melt shop in that state.
According to the ADEQ notice, Aluminum Dynamics is requesting the permit for a parcel of land in Benson, Arizona, which is in Cochise County in the southeastern corner of the state.
The proposed facility would process aluminum scrap into recycled aluminum ingots that would be supplied to Aluminum Dynamics’ flat rolling complex located in Columbus, Mississippi, according to ADEQ.
The proposed plant’s output would join other supply arrangements announced by SDI, including an Owl’s Head Alloys facility in Mississippi and a slab mill in San Luis Potosi, Mexico.
Supply from the latter facility, currently being commissioned, could face a tariff amount ranging from the 50 percent Section 232 tariff already imposed on inbound aluminum plus an additional reciprocal rate applied to Mexican imports, depending on tariff negotiations and the outcome of lawsuits seeking remedies.
Aluminum Dynamics reportedly indicated to some of its suppliers in 2023 that it intended to arrange for recycled-content slab and ingots to be produced in Mississippi, Mexico and a third site identified at that time as being in Gila Bend, Arizona.
On July 28, ADEQ held a public comment about the proposed Benson plant, which, according to a regional media report, brought out “not in my back yard” opponents.
A report from KOLD-TV in Tucson, Arizona, indicates officials in Benson have endorsed the predicted 90 jobs the 200-acre facility would create.
However, opponents say the permit applications indicate the plant might need 5,000 gallons of water per minute and emit more than 10 tons of hazardous air pollutants each year, according to the report.
KOLD-TV quotes an Arizona resident who identifies himself as a teacher saying his students are “going to be breathing in the particles.”
An ADEQ representative who attended that same meeting claimed air emissions testing would be performed regularly, including the installation of an “ambient monitoring network throughout the community to ensure that we understand what the potential contamination levels are.”
Batteries, Mergers & Acquisitions
Glencore announces Li-Cycle acquisition
Glencore Canada Corp., a division of Swiss mining and commodity trading company Glencore PLC, has acquired Toronto-based lithium-ion battery recycler Li-Cycle Holdings Corp.
According to a Rochester Business Journal report, the deal was completed through a credit bid and assumption of certain debt, which includes Li-Cycle’s spoke operations in Arizona, Alabama, New York, Ontario and Germany, as well as its intellectual property portfolio.
“We’re excited for Li-Cycle to be part of Glencore and confident that this will bring continued value and enhanced service to our joint customers,” Glencore says in a brief statement announcing the purchase. The company says all future updates, services and support will now be provided through Glencore Battery Recycling, or GBR.
In May, Li-Cycle filed for creditor protection under Canada’s Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act and, similarly, did so under Chapter 15 of the United States Bankruptcy Code.
For years, the company invested in lithium-ion battery recycling collection and reprocessing facilities in North America and Europe using what it called a “spoke-and-hub” model.
Glencore previously was involved with Li-Cycle as an investor and offtake partner for the recycler’s mixed hydroxide precipitate product, which was to be produced at Li-Cycle’s long-planned hub facility in Rochester, New York.
The company dealt with financial struggles in recent years after a sharp spike in construction costs in late 2023 indefinitely paused construction on the Rochester campus. Li-Cycle was awarded $475 million from the U.S. Department of Energy in late 2024 but was unable to access the loan given its inability to meet certain benchmarks tied to the hub’s construction. Glencore has not yet disclosed the current status of the DOE loan.
In February, Li-Cycle was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange when its stock fell below the $1-per-share threshold for more than 30 straight days. Since then, the company’s stock has been trading on the OTCQX Best Market.
Paper
Report: US paper recycling rate, exports down in ’24
The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) has reported its 2024 United States paper recycling rates, revealing a slight decline compared with 2023 as well as a slump in recovered paper exports.
According to the AF&PA, which updated its recycling rate methodology last year, 60-64 percent of paper and 69-74 percent of cardboard available for recovery was recycled in the U.S. last year, down slightly from 2023, when 65-69 percent of paper and 71-76 percent of cardboard was recycled.
Overall, the Washington-based group reports that 46 million tons of paper were recycled in the U.S. last year.
“Paper recycling works, and our success is due in large part to the paper industry’s ownership stake in America’s recycling systems and the millions of people who recycle every day,” AF&PA President and CEO Heidi Brock says in a statement.
A 13.5 percent increase also was reported in net containers entering the U.S., boosting the amount of goods with paper-based packaging imported, which increased the amount of paper available for recycling.
The AF&PA report does show an increase in recovered fiber’s share of all fiber consumed at U.S. mills—a statistic that has been climbing steadily over the past 20 years. In 2005, recovered fiber made up 36.6 percent of feedstock at U.S. mills, increasing to 37.7 percent in 2015 and to 44.4 percent in 2024.
Last year, U.S. mills used 32.7 million tons of recovered fiber for new products, 1.29 million tons more than in 2023.
“The recent gains can be attributed to the fact that, since 2021, about 4 million tons of containerboard and packaging paper mill capacity that primarily uses 100 [percent] recycled paper has come online,” AF&PA Vice President of Industry Affairs Terry Webber said during a media briefing Aug. 12. “This is due largely to voluntary industry investment in new or modernized mills.”
While U.S. mills consumed more recovered fiber in 2024, the U.S. exported less recovered fiber, primarily because of decreased demand from Asia, according to AF&PA.
“Even though U.S. mills are using more recycled paper in their manufacturing processes, the paper recycling rate declined slightly in 2024 because of softer-than-expected recycled paper demand in export markets,” Webber said.
Metals
Century Aluminum to restart idled production at South Carolina smelter
Century Aluminum Co., headquartered in Chicago, plans to invest nearly $50 million to restart more than 50,000 metric tons of idled production at its Mt. Holly, South Carolina, smelter, which is operating at 75 percent capacity currently.
The restart also will create more than 100 new jobs and boost U.S. domestic aluminum production by almost 10 percent. The plant is expected to achieve full production by June 30, 2026, a level not seen since 2015, according to the company.
Century Aluminum credits President Donald Trump’s levying of Section 232 tariffs on primary aluminum imports without exceptions or exemptions for the move. The tariffs were increased June 4 from 25 percent to 50 percent.
The restart also was made possible by the South Carolina Public Service Authority (Santee Cooper), Mt. Holly’s power supplier. Century Aluminum says it worked with Santee Cooper to reach an agreement in principle to extend the current contract through 2031 to purchase the additional power necessary for the restart.
The final details of the restart will be subject to a definitive agreement with Santee Cooper, along with confirmation of economic incentives provided by Berkeley County and the state of South Carolina, Century Aluminum notes.
At full capacity, the Mt. Holly smelter has an economic impact of more than $890 million annually in the state of South Carolina, driven in part by the average wage of $100,000 for jobs directly supported by Century Aluminum, according to a University of South Carolina study released in 2024.
In March 2024, the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations selected Century to begin award negotiations for up to $500 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act funding to build a new aluminum smelter as part of the Industrial Demonstrations Program. With this funding, Century plans to build the first new primary aluminum smelter in the U.S. in 45 years.
Metals, Mergers & Acquisitions
Lewis Salvage acquires Rochester Iron & Metal
Lewis Salvage, based in Warsaw, Indiana, has acquired Rochester Iron & Metal of Rochester, Indiana, one of the company’s largest competitors.
Lewis Salvage CEO Cary Lewis calls the move the company’s “largest expansion I could’ve ever dreamed of,” advancing the company’s growth, sustainability goals and ability to serve residential and commercial customers across northern Indiana.
“This is more than just a business move; it’s about having every tool in the recycler’s toolkit,” Lewis says of the acquisition, which includes an auto shredder. “With this new location, we’re going to be able to recycle more material, more efficiently and with greater environmental benefit than ever before.”
The acquired site is at 1552 E. Lucas St. and will operate as Lewis Salvage Shred Services.
At the heart of the expansion is an auto shredder capable of processing up to 60 gross tons per hour, or 45 to 60 cars. The shredder allows Lewis Salvage, which specializes in orthopedic recycling and nonferrous scrap, to break down vehicles and other large materials more quickly and cleanly, creating high-quality steel products for domestic use while minimizing environmental impact.
Rochester Iron & Metal installed its 6090 shredder from Wendt Corp., Buffalo, New York, in September 2012. The company, which was led by CEO Jason Grube, previously operated feeder yards in Logansport and Kokomo, Indiana, that became Paul’s Auto Yard locations in January 2024 after Rochester acquired 11 Paul’s Auto Yard locations in 2023.
Lewis Salvage plans to keep most of the Rochester Iron & Metal team, which numbers approximately 90 employees, and grow the services offered at the site.
The company also will expand its roll-off fleet from 300 to more than 700 units with the purchase, enabling Lewis Salvage to service jobs from backyard cleanouts to ongoing scrap collection from area manufacturers.
The Rochester location is open to the public in addition to industrial accounts.
The new site is expected to help Lewis Salvage recycle an additional 10-12 million pounds of material per month, from old appliances and farm equipment to scrap from the RV and manufacturing industries.
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