PET Recycling Facility Opens in North Carolina

Above: The Clear Path PET recycling facility in North Carolina has begun Operations Clear Path Recycling, LLC (CPR), the PET recycling joint venture company established by Shaw Industries Group, Inc. and DAK Americas LLC, has announced that it began processing operations in July. Created to produce Recycled PET (RPET) flake PET bottles, CPR will bring the first phase of its Fayetteville, N.C. facility to full capacity in the fourth quarter of this year. The formation of CPR was announced in April 2009. Shaw and DAK will be the primary users of the recycled RPET Flake in their respective polyester based products including carpets, fibres and resins. The remaining product will be sold for merchant use. The inventory build-up of waste bottles to be recycled is well underway with approximately 20 million pounds (9072 metric tonnes) of inventory being maintained. By the end of the first phase of the project, the operation will have the capability to recycle up to 160 million pounds (72,575 metric tonnes) of PET bottles, which will save over 550,000 cubic yards (420,505 cubic metres) of landfill space each year. The energy savings related to the Clear Path Recycling operation will save over 1.4 trillion BTUs (410 GWh) of energy annually, which is equal to the amount of primary energy necessary to power over 10,000 U.S. homes per year, according to Energy Information Administration data. Future plans for the facility would increase the recycling rate to 280 million pounds (127,000 metric tonnes) or about 5 billion bottles per year. “The start-up of the facility is a milestone for CPR and it’s parent companies in their Sustainability initiatives of reducing environmental impact while creating a viable product for use in their product offerings,” according to Ron Salati, Vice President, CPR.