PureCycle breaks ground on plastics recycling facility

PureCycle Technologies Inc. has broken ground on its second U.S. advanced plastic recycling facility in Augusta, Georgia, which will enable PureCycle to expand production of its ultra-pure recycled (UPR) resin.

Initial construction activities began immediately following the March 23 groundbreaking ceremony. PureCycle says it expects the first two Augusta purification lines to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2023, with a capacity to produce 260 million pounds of like-new recycling resin annually.

This facility, located in Augusta Corporate Park, is designed to transform postuse No. 5 plastic into a sustainable material that can be used to make products consumers use on a regular basis, such as yogurt cups, cosmetics, plastic containers and car parts.

PureCycle’s Augusta location can support up to eight recycling equipment lines that can collectively produce approximately 1 billion pounds of recycled plastic annually.

“This is an exciting time for PureCycle as we expand our operations into the Southeast and bring our versatile, recycled plastic to the region,” said PureCycle CEO Mike Otworth. “Our second facility, when completed, will transform No. 5 plastic waste—one of the most commonly used and least recycled plastics in the world—into an ultra-pure material that can be used to make consumer products, ultimately helping reduce our reliance on single-use plastics that contaminate our oceans and waterways.”

The groundbreaking and start of construction in Augusta come on the heels of the recent announcement of PureCycle’s $250 million private equity capital raise, financing that will help support the build out of the Augusta facility. The recycled resin produced at the Augusta facility will be used by PureCycle’s customers as a more environmentally sustainable resin for producing products.