President and CEO Jon Vander Ark, Indiana Gov. Mike Braun and other leaders and officials cut a ribbon to officially open the Indianapolis Polymer Center-Blue Polymers plastics recycling complex on Tuesday, March 18.
“The opening of the first Polymer Center-Blue Polymers complex is a significant milestone in advancing circularity for plastic packaging in Indiana and across the region,” said Jon Vander Ark. “As a leader in environmental services, Republic Services is uniquely positioned to help meet customers’ demands for sustainable packaging and support Indianapolis’ vision to create a more resilient future.”
The Indianapolis Polymer Center and Blue Polymers facilities are designed to work together to produce more than 175 million pounds annually of recycled plastics for use in food-grade packaging and other applications.
The Polymer Center will process recycled plastics collected from homes and businesses in Indiana and nearby states, including PET (water and soda bottles), HDPE (milk jugs or detergent bottles) and polypropylene (to-go cups or margarine tubs). PET will be shredded and washed to produce recycled PET (rPET) flake, which is used to manufacture new beverage bottles. The HDPE and polypropylene will be sorted by color and type then sent to Blue Polymers to be compounded, blended and pelletized, creating custom drop-in solutions for customers.
Republic Services estimates that most PET bottles can be recycled into new bottles six to seven times, while the process for recycling most HDPE jugs is designed to return them to store shelves in as little as 120 days. Through our innovations in circularity, we are transforming the plastics value chain, from curbside collection to consumer packaging and back again.