STOCK TITAN

Republic Services Polymer Center Opens, Promoting Bottle-to-Bottle Plastics Circularity

Rhea-AI Impact
(Low)
Rhea-AI Sentiment
(Neutral)
Tags
Rhea-AI Summary
Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE: RSG) opens the first-of-its-kind Polymer Center in Las Vegas, aiming to produce over 100 million pounds of recycled plastics annually for sustainable packaging. The facility will process plastic bottles, jugs, and containers to extend the lifecycle of plastic packaging and enable true circularity.
Positive
  • None.
Negative
  • None.

First-of-its-kind facility in North America will help meet growing demand for recycled plastics for use in sustainable packaging

PHOENIX, Dec. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE: RSG) today marked the opening of its Polymer Center in Las Vegas, the first-of-its-kind facility in North America, enabling greater circularity for plastics and helping meet growing demand for recycled material. The Polymer Center expects to produce more than 100 million pounds of recycled plastics each year for use in sustainable packaging and other applications.

"The Republic Services Polymer Center will supply high-quality, domestically sourced recycled plastic to advance a critical need for more sustainable packaging," said Jon Vander Ark, president and chief executive officer.  "As a leader in the environmental services industry, it's our responsibility to challenge every truckload of material we collect. The Polymer Center is another example of our commitment to developing solutions that promote greater circularity and help customers achieve their sustainability goals."

The Polymer Center will process plastic bottles, jugs and containers collected from homes and businesses to produce recycled PET (rPET) flake and color-sorted HDPE and polypropylene ready for use in new sustainable packaging. Until now, the fate of a recycled plastic bottle in the U.S. wasn't a new plastic bottle; instead, it was generally downcycled into fiber for use in carpet or clothing – material that has few options for further recycling. The Polymer Center expects to significantly extend the lifecycle of plastic packaging and help turn plastic bottles into new bottles six to seven times, enabling true circularity.

As brands commit to using more recycled content in their packaging and more states mandate the use of recycled plastic, supply is struggling to meet the growing demand. By 2030, demand for rPET in the U.S. is expected to total 5 billion pounds, while the supply – based on current processes – will only reach about 2.5 billion pounds.1 The Polymer Center can help companies fill this urgent gap now.

The Coca-Cola Company, one of the first customers of the Las Vegas Polymer Center, has committed to use at least 50% recycled material in its packaging by 2030. The Polymer Center is scheduled to supply rPET to Coca-Cola, beginning in January 2024.

Plans for a nationwide network of Polymer Centers are underway, with the second facility expected to open in Indianapolis in late 2024.

About Republic Services
Republic Services, Inc. is a leader in the environmental services industry. Through its subsidiaries, the Company provides customers with the most complete set of products and services, including recycling, solid waste, special waste, hazardous waste and field services. Republic's industry-leading commitments to advance circularity and support decarbonization are helping deliver on its vision to partner with customers to create a more sustainable world. For more information, please visit RepublicServices.com.

Media 
Media@RepublicServices.com
(480) 757-9770

1  https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/packaging-and-paper/our-insights/filling-the-gap-boosting-supply-of-recycled-materials-for-packaging?cid=other-eml-dre-mip-mck&hlkid=3c2399fd2c704291abc04761e70adec9&hctky=13828386&hdpid=c20c1335-6bf0-41cd-a195-e2f0e9b12d8e

PET and olefins pass through a series of 17 optical sorters at the Republic Services Polymer Center.

Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/republic-services-polymer-center-opens-promoting-bottle-to-bottle-plastics-circularity-302005601.html

SOURCE Republic Services, Inc.

FAQ

What is the name of the company and its ticker symbol?

Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE: RSG)

Where is the Polymer Center located?

The Polymer Center is located in Las Vegas, North America.

What is the expected annual production of recycled plastics at the Polymer Center?

The Polymer Center aims to produce more than 100 million pounds of recycled plastics each year.

What types of plastics will the Polymer Center process?

The Polymer Center will process plastic bottles, jugs, and containers.

What is the expected impact of the Polymer Center on plastic packaging lifecycle?

The Polymer Center expects to significantly extend the lifecycle of plastic packaging and help turn plastic bottles into new bottles six to seven times, enabling true circularity.

Republic Services Inc.

NYSE:RSG

RSG Rankings

RSG Latest News

RSG Stock Data

59.60B
204.27M
0.12%
96.12%
0.72%
Solid Waste Landfill
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services
Link
United States of America
PHOENIX

About RSG

our company today: republic services, is an industry leader in u.s. recycling and waste services. through its subsidiaries, republic’s collection companies, transfer stations, recycling centers and landfills focus on providing reliable environmental services and solutions for 14 million commercial, industrial, municipal and residential customers. our customers: we want our customers to feel at ease because of the reliability of our services, uplifted by the environmental impact they can make partnering with republic, and delighted by the simple solutions and array of services we provide. we’ll handle it from here™, republic’s tagline, lets our customers know that they can count on us to provide an effortless experience; backs the promise that we will be on-time, never miss a pickup and leave the area clean; supports our promise to deliver superior products and services to meet their customers’ needs; and remind them about our environmental commitment. our environmental commitment: we b