Clyde plant to expand production of recycled plastic

CLYDE — A new expansion project will allow a Clyde manufacturing plant to more than double its ability to recycle plastic for food and beverage containers. The expansion at Evergreen, a plastics reclaimer and recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) manufacturing facility, is being aided by a $5 million loan. Half is from the American Beverage Association in partnership with Closed Loop Partners and the other half from Closed Loop Partners' Infrastructure Fund. The expansion project will cost between $22 million and $24 million and will expand the plant's ability to produce food-grade recycled plastic for containers from about 40 million pounds a year to a little more than 80 million pounds, said Gregory Johnson, vice president of operations for Greenbridge, the plant's parent company. Johnson said the Evergreen plant, located in east Clyde just east of downtown, currently employs 120 people. Nine new jobs are expected to be added as a result of the expansion, he said. The current facility has 240,000 square feet and 54,000 square feet will be added, Johnson said. The first stage, completing the new building, will be done in November, Johnson said. The project will be complete when all of the necessary equipment is moved in next year, he said. Janotta & Herner of Monroeville is the contractor putting up the building. "This expansion project will double our manufacturing capacity of food-grade rPET and create new jobs while building on our company's commitment to recycling, sustainability and closed-loop solutions," said Omar Abuaita, president of Greenbridge. The plant makes plastic straps for cardboard boxes and also plastic pellets for food-grade plastic containers. The plant is expected to purchase plastic for recycling from a 400-mile radius, said Kimberley McConville, executive director of the Ohio Beverage Association. Making food-grade recycled plastic is an important skill, she said. "Food grade anything is not an easy standard to meet," McConville said. "It is a Food and Drug Administration standard."