Brightmark Intends to Build Recycling Circularity Center in Upson County, Georgia
The company announced plans for an investment totaling $950 million.
Brightmark announced plans to develop a 2.5 million-square-foot facility in Thomaston, Georgia. According to the company, the flagship facility will have sufficient capacity to process up to 400,000 tons of plastic per year. Brightmark has a proprietary pyrolysis technology it calls Plastics Renewal, which should enable the new facility to process mixed plastics waste streams into oil, which is then separated into saleable products including naphtha.
Brightmark says the new facility will have capacity to process up to 400,000 tons of waste plastics, creating usable materials. Source: Brightmark.
The total investment is intended to be $950 million, with $20 million going to ancillary local infrastructure, including utilities, roads, rail access and other resources to operationalize the business. The facility is anticipated to bring 200 manufacturing jobs.
To date, Brightmark has recycled 2,000 tons of plastic waste. The company currently operates a facility in Ashley, Indiana.
“This investment in Georgia represents a commitment to supporting economic longevity and playing an integral role in building a sustainable future together in my home state. We’re thrilled to be able to offer a circular solution that will make a positive environmental and economic impact on a region so near and dear to my heart,” says Bob Powell, Brightmark founder, CEO and Georgia native.
Brightmark’s investments will include $1 million in zero liquid discharge technology to process and manage wastewater on-site, preventing contact with local waterways and the municipal water supply. The company’s circularity center will be considered a synthetic minor emitter, which is a permitting classification in Georgia.
“I am excited to welcome Brightmark to Upson County. Bringing diverse industries to Upson has been a priority for some time and I’m proud of our efforts to bring this project home,” says Norman Allen, chairman of the Upson County Board of Commissioners.
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