Nonprofit Plastics Recycling Plant Being Built in NH

Plastic recycling in northern New England took a giant leap forward when New Frontier Industries recently broke ground for a $4 million facility in Milton Industrial Park, Milton, N.H.

New Frontier’s plant is unique in the United States, according to CEO Mike Samson, in that it takes all mixed plastic types and manufactures finished products using a new process licensed by Green Polymer Technologies of Schaumburg, Ill.

New Frontier overcomes the traditional problem of trying to sort old plastic into the thousands of different resin types. NFI is set up as a company that will look like and act like a for-profit company.

What sets New Frontier apart is that it is a non-profit with eventual profits to be reinvested in research and development, recycling and economic development.

The company is owned by Northeast Resource Recovery Association, a municipal recycling co-operative. The company plans to market decking and panels for highway sound barriers. The 22,000-square-foot facility expects to be open in August and will be delivering products in September.

When fully operational, it will recycle more than 10 million pounds of plastic a year, save $500,000 a year in plastic disposal costs and employ 35 people in an innovative employee training and benefit program that stresses advancement, cross training and a complete benefit package. Initially, most of the recycled plastic will come from business sources.

It is anticipated that by spring of 2005, municipal waste plastic will be accepted at the plant for recycling. Not only is ground being broken for construction, but New Frontier is also breaking ground by creating a broad collaboration of partners.

More than 20 organizations and businesses have joined together to find the solution to using mixed plastic, provide the funding for the project, manufacture the equipment, locate the feedstock and identify markets for the products.

The initial partners that sought a technical solution for recycling mixed plastic included U.S. EPA, N.H. Governor’s Recycling Program, the American Plastics Council, N.H. Department of Resources and Economic Development, Vermont Agency of Natural Resources and the Northeast Resource Recovery Association.

A variety of governmental and private funding sources provided the $5.5 million needed to build, equip and operate the new company.

Several partners are involved in building the mixed plastics facility. They are the American Plastics Council, Northeast Resource Recovery Association, NH Governor’s Recycling Program, and Vermont’s Agency of Natural Resources. Each partner is responsible for offering assistance in one or several of the phases of project development. The Project Coordinator facilitates partners’ contributions in each phase. The project's tasks and the roles of each partner are described below.

NRRA, in conjunction with APC, will perform third party technical verification of an existing technology that is available to remanufacture mixed resin plastics.

NRRA and VTANR will determine volumes of mixed plastics available within the market area and current value or disposal cost.

NRRA and the PC will determine the market and pricing for end products including the potential for sales of product to municipal and/or state governments.

NRRA and the PC will develop a business plan and create a subsidiary of a non-profit corporation that will own and operate the plastics facility.

The PC will work with all project partners to source and acquire construction capital and start-up financing.

The PC, NRRA, and VTANR will develop, negotiate, and secure contracts for plastic feedstocks and the purchase of end products.

The PC will assimilate all resulting information into communication tools (i.e. manual and website) to disseminate to interested parties. Foster’s (New Hampshire) Democrat