Brightmark retains Indiana pyrolysis facility following bankruptcy filing

The United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware recently confirmed that a subsidiary of San Francisco-based Brightmark LLC was the winning bidder to retain its Ashley, Indiana, pyrolysis facility.

In March, company subsidiaries Brightmark Plastics Renewal LLC, Brightmark Plastics Renewal Indiana LLC and Brightmark Plastics Renewal Services LLC filed voluntary petitions under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code, and during that process, Brightmark remained the owner, retained all employees and continued production at the facility. At the time, the company said the process was necessary to take control of its future and ensure the long-term viability of the Ashley facility.

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Following what Brightmark describes as a competitive auction process, a judge found that the company’s bid for the facility was the best and would “bring value to all stakeholders, including employees and the community at large,” the company says.

With the retention, Brightmark says it plans to enhance the facility’s operations and performance, including new operational leadership, and will continue to work closely with the Ashley community.

“We believe in our plastics business and providing a viable, circular recycling solution for postuse plastic while working to solve waste challenges at scale,” Brightmark founder and CEO Bob Powell says. “The retention of the Ashley facility is an important step in accomplishing our mission.”

The Ashley facility, which broke ground in 2019 and began a commissioning phase in 2020, employs more than 90 people and uses a form of advanced recycling to turn hard-to-recycle mixed postconsumer and postindustrial plastic into pyrolysis oil.

According to court documents filed in March, the facility’s first sale of pyrolysis oil was in 2023, and the plant has the capacity to process 100,000 tons of plastic per year. However, the court filings said the facility was operating at about 5 percent of its nameplate capacity.