Pa. DEP Awards Recycling Markets Infrastructure Development Grants

Kathleen McGinty, secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection awarded $485,270 in recycling markets infrastructure development grants to finance equipment purchases that will increase the use of Pennsylvania-generated recycled feedstock at Waste Not Technologies LLC of Saylorsburg, Monroe County, and St. Jude Polymer Corp. of Frackville, Schuylkill County.

"The increased ability of manufacturers to locate and consume materials from state recycling programs will encourage the development and expansion of Pennsylvania's recycling industry, directly benefiting both our environment and the economy," McGinty said. "The future of recycling depends in large part on increasing the dependable and financially viable demand for secondary materials by manufacturers. Both of these companies have been innovators and leaders in the recycled plastics industry, and they will be able to increase demand for recycled materials as a result of these grants."

Waste Not Technologies currently produces post and rail fencing made entirely out of recycled plastic from industrial and residential recycling programs, including low-density polyethylene and polypropylene, for which no other regional markets exist. The company will receive $250,000 to purchase a structural foam injection mold machine to improve the manufacturing process and increase the types of materials used at the plant. In addition, capacity at the plant is expected to increase from 357 pounds per day to 9.5 tons per day within five years.

St. Jude Polymer manufactures raw materials to user and mill specifications from recycled PET and HDPE, including bottles and mixed-grade plastics collected from industrial and residential recycling programs. PET and HDPE make up 95 percent all plastic bottle resins.

The company will receive $235,270 to purchase separating and processing equipment to increase its monthly capacity from 450,000 pounds of bottles a month to 3 million pounds a month.