On April 18, Texas-based Encina Development Group announced it will not move forward with its chemical plastics recycling plant in Northumberland County "at the current time."  The company said it will pursue other projects in the US, Saudi Arabia and Southeast Asia.

“Encina has had several key projects under review or development in the USA, KSA, and SE Asia for more than 18 months. Our extensive research shows that these projects offer Encina opportunities to meet the needs of our customers to provide their end products with ISCC+ circular chemicals to help meet their sustainability goals in the coming years at the scale they are expecting.

“Ultimately, our facilities must meet these increased demands, therefore, after careful consideration and thorough analysis, Encina’s management team has decided not to proceed with the construction of our circular manufacturing facility in Point Township, Pennsylvania but will move forward in our other customer markets.

“We applaud former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf and the Pennsylvania General Assembly who ushered in ground-breaking legislation classifying advanced recycling technologies correctly as those that fall under the purview of manufacturing.

“We also are grateful for the support we received from the Shapiro administration, elected officials, local trade unions, community partners, as well as our employees and investors. Your input and support were instrumental.

“While we were excited about the many attractive opportunities for expansion and growth in Point Township, we have determined that our current strategic objectives and long-term goals will be better met through this decision.”

Click Here for the complete announcement.

Reaction

“This is a huge win for the residents of Northumberland County, for the six million people who use the Susquehanna for drinking water, and for all Pennsylvanians who have a constitutional right to clean air,” said Alex Bomstein, Executive Director of Clean Air Council, which has been supporting residents and applying legal scrutiny on the project.

“Chemical recycling is not a solution to the plastics crisis. Encina sold false promises to our state, and this must be a wake-up call to elected officials that toxic boondoggles like chemical recycling have no place in Pennsylvania.”

“This project threatened the region’s clean air and water and would have harmed our way of life in the area, especially for the people who live next to the proposed facility,” said Sandy Field, member of the local residents group Save Our Susquehanna.

“Community members stood up and spoke out about these unacceptable risks, and Save our Susquehanna is thrilled that Encina will not be building their toxic chemical plant in our area. But we do not wish this plant on others, and we will continue to warn other communities about chemical recycling and the danger it poses to communities."

"This community is safer without Encina's proposed chemical recycling plant looming in the floodplains. Chemical recycling isn't a solution to plastic waste, but rather a transformation of plastic waste like a bottle in the river, into toxic air, soil and water pollution for the community,” said Jess Conard, Appalachia Director at Beyond Plastics.

“Encina’s departure is a welcomed relief for everyone, and it has been an honor to work alongside the Save Our Susquehanna team."

This announcement follows the closure of a similar chemical recycling facility in Oregon, and major issues at other facilities in Ohio, Indiana, and North Carolina, according to the Clean Air Council.

The Council said the industry’s poor track and lack of technical and economic viability, more chemical recycling facilities are proposed and the industry has successfully lobbied state governments, including Pennsylvania, to avoid regulations intended to protect residents.

“The significance of this win cannot be overstated,” said Bomstein. “But the fight is not over. Toxic chemical recycling is a false solution to the plastics crisis. It doesn’t belong in Point Township. It doesn’t belong in Pennsylvania. And it doesn’t belong in any other community.”

[Posted: April 18, 2024]

4/22/2024