ACI Plastics, in partnership with Luxembourg-based Ravago, has launched a new state-of-the-art recycling facility in Flint, Michigan.
Officials with the Michigan Dept. of Environment, Great lakes, and Energy (EGLE) joined with Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley and Genesee County state legislators and business leaders to unveil Flint-based ACI Plastics’ new $10 million-plus plastics recycling facility.
“We are proud to welcome ACI Plastics’ new facility and congratulate their entire team on this milestone achievement,” Mayor Neeley said during a Monday press conference at the plant, 2000 Bagwell St. in Flint. “The company’s installation of state-of-the-art processing and cleaning technology will make ACI Plastics the largest producer of post-consumer recycled plastic film in Michigan.”
The firm is joining forces with Luxembourg-based Ravago – the world’s largest distributor of plastic resins serving more than 55 countries across the globe – to ship its recycled film, reconstituted as pellets, to business customers throughout the United States. Flint was chosen for the project over a competing site in Ohio.
“We like going to sleep every night knowing that we’re not only doing something to help the environment but also providing a good living for many employees while enjoying a successful business,” said ACI Plastics President Scott Melton.
The recycled pellets from ACI Plastics will be shipped and turned into new products by Michigan-based companies, including Petoskey Plastics and Grand Rapids-based manufacturer Cascade Cart Solutions, which makes plastic recycling carts and bins.
ACI Plastics employs about 120 workers at its four locales (two in Flint and one each in South Carolina and Nebraska). The company has received funding support for its investment through a $300,000 Renew Michigan EGLE infrastructure grant and a $150,000 Business Development Program performance-based grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.
The Renew Michigan funding is part of EGLE’s strategy to support recycling infrastructure, improve the quality of recyclable materials, and promote market development for Michigan’s circular economy using the Renew Michigan Fund, which the Legislature created in 2019 to bolster the state’s recycling efforts. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the state Legislature are committed to raising Michigan’s recycling rate to 30% by 2025 and 45% by 2030, exceeding the national recycling rate of 32%.
At its peak later this year, ACI Plastics recycling system will process 24 million pounds of post-consumer film each year with the ability to increase capacity another 24 million per year if demand warrants it.
Press release by US Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy