PLA-ful Recycler

Plarco was incorporated in the first quarter of 2010 to recycle post-industrial and post-consumer plastics made from polylactic acid (PLA). “We have contracted with WRR Environmental Services Co. Inc. and Envirogreen Solutions to recycle PLA using their equipment and Plarco technology,” says Chuck Terry, CEO of Plarco and vice president of Envirogreen Solutions, both of which are based in Eau Claire, Wis.

AT A GLANCE

Company: Plarco Inc. CEO: Charles “Chuck” L. Terry Location: Eau Claire, Wis. Employees: Two Year Established: 2010 Web site: www.plarco.com (not yet operational) Services Provided: Recycling of PLA (polylactic acid) plastics using hydrolysis

“The PLA is purchased and aggregated by BioCor, www.biocore.org, and then sent to Plarco. Plarco uses hydrolysis to render the scrap to lactic acid, which is the sold to NatureWorks,” Terry says.

NatureWorks then processes the lactic acid from Plarco into Ingeo resins and fibers.

Terry tells Recycling Today about Plarco’s focus and goals for the future:

Q. What makes you different from your competitors?
A. At this point, the only competitors to Plarco are the various disposal options for PLA, i.e. composting, fuels or disposal. Plarco has the only facility in North America that can process PLA to lactic acid. We are confident that the marketplace would rather recycle than dispose of a valuable renewable resource.

Q. Where do you see your company five years from now?
A. In five years, we plan to be recycling 25 to 35 percent of the PLA produced with facilities in a number of different locations. We plan to work with BioCor to help establish new collection systems that will serve to assist consumers and industry with the efficient and economical collection of post-consumer and post-industrial PLA.