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| 8/17/2009 1:23:00 PM | Email this article • Print this article |
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| U.S. Rep. Baron Hill, left, is shown a huge pile of old plastic bags by Chris Dixon, who manages Hilex Poly’s recycling facility in North Vernon. |
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Plastic recycling plant to expand
Hilex Poly to add 20 positions at NV facility
Bryce Mayer
With the plastic bag industry under fire from some sectors, the Hilex Poly Co. is fighting back - and soon will be expanding with the addition of around 20 new jobs.
Corporation officials gave U.S. Rep. Baron Hill (D-9th District) a tour of its North Vernon plant earlier this month and he liked what he saw.
"I'm very impressed with the plant, its cleanliness and its purpose," Hill said. "It was interesting to hear many of the reasons why plastic bags are as environmentally good as and if not better than paper bags."
The Hilex Poly complex at 1001 Second St. in the North Vernon Industrial Park actually includes two plants. The original section, a 175,000-square foot building, is where plastic bags for retailers are manufactured from polyethylene, a hydroplastic that is a byproduct of natural gas.
The complex's new section, a 100,000-square foot structure completed in 2005, recycles old plastic bags to produce new bags and represents a $20 million investment.
Hilex Poly employs 252 individuals in North Vernon. It produces around 8 billion bags a year, making it the largest of the corporation's eight plastic bag plants in the United States.
The bag recycling facility is the only one of its kind in the nation.
"It has taken a lot of time and hard work to crack the code on recycling plastic bags," said Ben Mascarello, Hilex Poly's vice president for manufacturing. "It's a smooth process now and we're quite proud of it."
Officials say 20 employees will be added starting in December when a new line is installed in the recycling facility.
Plastic bags and wraps totaling 10 million pounds were recycled in North Vernon last year. The bags and other plastic materials are washed and then go through a heating process where they are broken down into pellets, which are then added at up to 90 percent with polyethylene to manufacture new bags.
"We generate 80 percent less waste and 91 percent less energy to recycle plastic bags than it takes to recycle paper bags," pointed out Mark Daniels, Hilex Poly's vice president of marketing and environmental affairs. "Plastic bags are also recycled by consumers themselves such as using them as trash bags. Even when they get to the landfill, plastic bags leave a smaller 'footprint' than paper bags."
San Francisco has already banned plastic bags at retail stores, while Seattle and Washington, D.C., are considering adding taxes to plastic bags, according to Daniels.
"Landfill waste is up in the San Francisco area because the ban closed the (recycling) loop," he said.
Hilex Poly officials want to stop that trend and recycle more plastic bags.
"We are working hard to get more retailers to promote recycling," Daniels said.
The company is also experimenting to find ways to recycle other materials, such as milk jugs, to use in plastic bags.
"It's good news that Hilex Poly is going to expand," Hill said. "This plant will be in North Vernon a long time and will employ a lot of people."
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Reader Comments
Posted: Thursday, September 03, 2009
Article comment by:
Amber Burton
I live in North Vernon. I have applied an application. Contact me.
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