Brightmark plans $950M plastics circularity center for Georgia

San Francisco-based global circular solutions company Brightmark LLC recently announced plans to develop a 2.5 million-square-foot circularity center in Thomaston, Georgia, with the capacity to repurpose over 400,000 tons of plastic per year.

Brightmark says it selected Thomaston for its flagship facility because of its desire to grow alongside a strong community partner and responsible corporate actor. The company says its “dedication to economic advancement in the Peach State” is highlighted by a $950 million investment, which it estimates will bring about 200 jobs, improvements to regional infrastructure and support economic growth and development in rural West Central Georgia.

In a news release, Brightmark says it will be a community partner to Thomaston and Upson County and is prepared to support the goals of the community, its economy and the health and safety of its people.

“We are pleased to welcome Brightmark to the Thomaston-Upson County business community,” Thomaston Mayor John David Stallings says. “As Thomaston approaches the 200th anniversary of our founding, we look to the future and welcome business partners like Brightmark who are focused on building upon the economic stability and urban growth this town has always been known for.”

Brightmark says it is steadfast in its commitment to protect the Thomaston and Upson County environment, particularly the water, air and land that surrounds the site, adding that extensive planning and investment will be undertaken to ensure there are strong measures to mitigate environmental risk. The company plans to invest over $1 million to enable a “zero liquid discharge” technology to ensure that all process wastewater is managed and processed onsite, preventing any contact with the municipal water supply that includes drinking water, groundwater, the Flint River and other local waterways. The company’s circularity center will be considered a synthetic minor emitter—implementing the best available technologies to reduce emissions.

The company says it also plans to implement detailed procedures to ensure employee safety, including strong training on critical areas such as operating procedures, emergency response, remediation and lifesaving protocols. Its health and safety team will establish a detailed emergency action plan for Thomaston that goes beyond regulatory requirements.

Additionally, Brightmark says it plans to invest $20 million in additive infrastructure projects pursuant to agreements with the city and state as part of the total investment, including upgrades to utilities, roadway improvements, rail access extensions and other necessary resources to operationalize the business, improve local infrastructure and positively impact the community, the local economy and tax base.

“Over the years, Brightmark has invested heavily in talent and innovation required to build and refined a circular solution capable of tackling one of the most complex issues of our time: recycling,” says Brightmark founder and CEO Bob Powell, also a Georgia native. “This investment in Georgia represents a commitment to supporting economic longevity and playing an integral role in building a sustainable future together in my home state. We’re thrilled to be able to offer a circular solution that will make a positive environmental and economic impact on a region so near and dear to my heart.”

Brightmark says plastic pollution is a serious issue currently affecting communities, with 95 percent of all plastic products in the United States not getting recycled. Instead, the company says discarded material piles up in landfills, pollutes waterways or is left as litter in communities. Brightmark cites recent studies showing that 49 percent of the population has access to drop-off recycling; 42 percent of communities offer curbside collection; and 10 percent of the population has no access to recycling at all.

The company’s Plastics Renewal solution repurposes existing material on a large scale, including hard-to-recycle plastics from a variety of sources, such as industrial sites, manufacturing facilities and schools. It also works with material recovery facilities (MRFs) to capture postconsumer plastic, then converts it into materials used to create new products that can be reused. Brightmark says the new facility will provide a unique waste management capability to the Southeast region that has not existed in the past, and it will have the ability to process mixed plastic material streams so they can safely be converted into fully circular products.

“This is a tremendous win for Thomaston-Upson County, and we are thrilled to welcome Brightmark to our community,” says Chase Fallin, chairman of the Thomaston-Upson County Industrial Development Authority. “Creating jobs, growing our community and building for our future is the cornerstone of economic development. This project encompasses all of those tenets. We welcome Brightmark to our community and look forward to seeing the project prosper.”