Encina slates plastics recycling plant as Brightmark cancels

The plastics recycling start-up Encina has announced plans for its first major plant, in Point Township, Pennsylania. The $1.1 billion complex will use catalytic pyrolysis to turn 450,000 metric tons (t) of plastic waste per year into 200,000 t of benzene, toluene, xylene, and other chemicals. According to Encina CEO Dave Roesser, the plant will primarily process polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene drawn from municipalities in Pennsylvania and elsewhere in the Northeast. Encina raised $55 million from investors in March, and Roesser says he’s confident that it can get additional financing once the project achieves such milestones as receiving environmental permits. Separately, according to the Macon Newsroom, Brightmark Energy has canceled plans to build a $680 million facility in Macon, Georgia, that would have turned 400,000 t of plastics per year into diesel, naphtha, and wax. The company has been putting the finishing touches on a smaller plant in Ashley, Indiana. According to the Newsroom report, Brightmark ran afoul of agreements with local authorities when it failed to demonstrate the technology at its Indiana plant.