Work begins on Oregon plastic recycling plant

Published 12:01 am Wednesday, August 31, 2011

ST. HELENS, Ore. — A $10 million plant to recycle plastic bottles is expected to open early next year in the northwest Oregon town St. Helens.

The Longview Daily News reported the plant was delayed but a groundbreaking ceremony is planned Wednesday.

The Oregon Legislature added plastic bottles to the state’s bottle bill in 2009. The 5-cent deposit on containers led to plans for the recycling plant, which is expected to handle 90 percent of the plastic bottles used in Oregon.

The plant owned by a partnership named ORPET is expected to bring 25 jobs by December.

Plant officials anticipate recycling 12 million to 15 million pounds of plastic bottles the first year. When fully operational the facility could recycle 25 million to 30 million pounds and add an additional 25 jobs.

“This is very exciting,” said David Stocker, Columbia County economic development director. “This is actually the first of its kind in Oregon. Right now bottles are being shipped to China. This will be onshoring these jobs.”

The 44,000-square-foot plant will receive 750- to 800-pound bales of crushed plastic bottles from across the state. The bottles will be sorted using optical lasers, ground into chips and washed to produce “clean flakes,” said Bruce Sone, project manager for the partnership.

The flakes can be made into clothing, bedding, packaging, construction material, car parts or new bottles.

“There’s an incredibly high demand for these flakes,” Sone said.

A cooperative spearheaded by beverage distributors that manages the state bottle bill has guaranteed the plant a 10-year supply.

The original plan had set early 2011 as the target date for the plant to open.

“There are five different partners and five sets of attorneys,” Sone said. “It took a long time to get the legal work done and the financing done… We’re trying to make sure we have a plant that lasts for many years.”

Sone said there have been talks with companies in Southwest Washington about additional sources of plastic bottles, but the plant will focus on getting the St. Helens plant open and operating.

“First we crawl, then walk and then run,” Sone said. “As capacity expands we’ll venture out.”