carbonLITE, a leading producer of bottle-grade raw material used to make new bottles, was joined by California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today to announce the official grand opening of the world's largest bottle-to-bottle plastic recycling plant. Located in Riverside, Ca., the 220,000 sq-ft plant has already created over 100 green jobs and will recover more than two billion plastic PET bottles annually from California's Curbside and Redemption Value programs.
Governor Brown kicked off a Grand Opening Celebration and Ribbon-Cutting ceremony held today, bringing together notable guests from the State of California, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, County of Riverside, City of Riverside and Riverside Chamber of Commerce, along with executives from PepsiCo and Nestle Waters.
"Companies like carbonLITE are revolutionizing the recycling industry and dramatically reducing the huge amount of plastic dumped in California landfills every year," said Governor Brown.
"carbonLITE is using high-tech innovations to bring used plastic back to food grade quality," said Jared Blumenfeld, Regional Administrator for EPA's Pacific Southwest. "By recycling two billion PET bottles (12 fl oz) every year, this cutting-edge facility is helping America save 48 million gallons of gas. This is a model of resource recovery and economic development."
Previously, most plastic bottles collected in California were exported to China and downcycled into polyester fiber. carbonLITE is changing that, and bringing both this valuable resource and jobs back to the State. carbonLITE is able to do this with the support of their customers like PepsiCo and Nestle Waters while helping both companies achieve their sustainability goals.
"We're committed to being the leading bottle-to-bottle recycler, preserving resources and reducing the carbon footprint from PET bottle production," said Leon Farahnik, Chairman, carbonLITE. "We're honored to have the support of Governor Brown, U.S. EPA Regional Administrator Jared Blumenfeld, and the many others who came out to our grand opening and experienced our state-of-the-art recycling facility. Our customers are allowing us to truly make a large impact by creating a sustainable infrastructure for beverage companies."
carbonLITE specializes in processing used plastic bottles into bottle-grade PET pellets that can then be used to manufacture new plastic beverage bottles. This conserves virgin resources, reduces landfills, and capitalizes on the energy already invested in making existing plastic products.
Products made using PET resin are recyclable and highly sustainable. PET can be recycled numerous times, turning bottles back into bottles. The PET resin offered by carbonLITE will have been processed using a method that has received an LNO (letter of non-objection) from the FDA, allowing it to be used at levels up to 100 percent recycled content in the manufacture of PET bottles and containers for direct contact with all food types under cold fill and hot fill conditions.
About carbonLITE:
carbonLITE, founded by plastics stalwarts Leon Farahnik and Neville Browne, owns and operates the world's largest post-consumer plastic bottle recycling facility devoted to producing bottle-grade raw material used to make new bottles. Their new 220,000 sq-ft, bottle-to-bottle, PET recycling plant opened in Riverside, CA, creating over 100 green jobs and processing more than two billion plastic bottles annually. The second phase of carbonLITE's development will double capacity to more than four billion PET bottles per year in mid-2013. Through new state-of-the-art facilities, technologies, and equipment, carbonLITE is fully invested and committed to making an impact in preserving resources and reducing the carbon footprint from PET bottle production.