Dive Brief:

• A subsidiary of recycler GDB International will reopen the shuttered Myplas USA film recycling plant in Rogers, Minnesota, the company announced Wednesday.
• GDB Circular (MN) will own and operate the existing Myplas USA facility and serve as the lead investor on the “revamped operation.” The company did not disclose when the facility will reopen or what kind of financial contribution it made to the project. 
• Myplas USA first opened its 170,000-square-foot plastic film recycling facility in December 2023, but operators said they ran into “unexpected” financial challenges. It decided to idle the facility and furlough employees less than two months later.

Dive Insight:

The new ownership announcement could bring an end to months of legal and financial issues. Myplas USA resolved an eviction lawsuit this spring alleging the company owed about $1.3 million in unpaid bills.

New Jersey-based GDB International operates mechanical recycling facilities for plastic in Wisconsin, Ohio, Tennessee and Florida. The Myplas facility will become the “latest addition to this network,” the company said in a news release.

“Significant new investments have been made to upgrade the facility and its operations, incorporating cutting-edge technologies that enhance efficiency and reduce adverse environmental impact,” GDB said in the news release, adding that the improvements are meant to position the facility as a “state-of-the-art hub for plastics recycling in the region.” 

GDB also expects the reopening to generate jobs “in engineering and sustainability,” but it did not specify numbers.

The Myplas USA facility, a subsidiary of the South Africa-based plastics recycler Myplas, was designed to mechanically recycle and pelletize low-density and high-density polyethylene film. It was expected to have a capacity of 90 million pounds per year once fully operational. 

The facility initially received significant support from brands and government agencies, including a $13 million joint equity investment lead by General Mills, Target, Schwan’s Co., Charter Next Generation and Ecolab. Closed Loop Partners, the Alliance to End Plastic Waste and the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development also provided financial support.

GDB Circular said in the release that it is optimistic about moving forward with the reopening and acknowledged the previous investors and partners for their role in launching the facility. 

"We are thrilled to continue building on the original vision of creating a circular economy for flexibles and rigid polyolefins in the upper Midwest,” said Raj Bagaria, managing director at GDB Circular (MN), in a statement. 

The partnerships will “continue the shared commitment of this facility to pioneering a regional circular economy for flexible films,” Bagaria said.

Representatives from General Mills and Schwan’s also applauded GDB’s announcement, saying the company would continue the Myplas USA facility’s role as a sustainability hub.

The project received major support from the MBold coalition, meant to bring together stakeholders interested in building circular economy opportunities for plastic film in the Upper Midwest. MBold was not a financial investor and did not oversee Myplas’ operations or oversight, Packaging Dive reported. 

GDB Circular’s role in the project will help “to champion the creation of a circular economy for flexible film in the Upper Midwest,” said JoAnne Berkenkamp, MBold’s managing director, in a statement.

This story first appeared in the Waste Dive: Recycling newsletter. Sign up for the weekly emails here.