Evergreen, the PET recycling division of Greenbridge, announces its intent to acquire CarbonLite’s PET recycling facility in Riverside, California, in a deal that will significantly enhance the company’s position as a leading PET recycler and manufacturer of food-grade RPET. The acquisition will give Evergreen a larger presence in North America with locations in the Midwest and West Coast. Terms of the purchase were not disclosed.
The announcement comes just weeks after Evergreen unveiled a major expansion at its Clyde, Ohio facility that will double manufacturing capacity of food grade RPET from 40 million pounds to more than 80 million pounds annually by mid 2022. The expansion includes construction of a 54,000-square-feet addition, bringing the Ohio plant to just under 300,000 square feet. Existing RPET pelletizing lines will be retrofitted with solid-state polycondensation reactors to meet rigorous specifications required by the FDA and food and beverage customers.
Commenting on the acquisition, Greenbridge CEO Omar Abuaita said, “As I stated during Evergreen’s groundbreaking ceremony in early May, we’re in growth mode and focused on elevating our commitment to RPET bottle-to-bottle recycling and closing the loop. This is an exciting time; Riverside’s recycling and food grade RPET manufacturing capabilities are well aligned with the great team and operations we have in place at Evergreen and our plans to bring more high quality, food grade RPET to our customers.”
The 220,000-square-foot Riverside facility houses both post-consumer PET bottle recycling and processing into food grade RPET pellet. Annual capacity is estimated at more than 100 million pounds of RPET per year.