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Business and Economic News
Dan Gunderson

Plastic film recycling facility ramps up to fill gap in Minnesota

a worked unpacks recycled plastic material
A new plastic film recycling facility in Rogers will recycle up to 90 million pounds of plastic wrap and other plastic film products each year.
Courtesy of Myplas

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The Myplas USA plastics recycling plant in Rogers will ramp up production early next year.

The facility began operations in August with one of two production lines open. Additional lines focused on recycling flexible plastic film will be added in the next 18 months, according to CEO Andrew Pieterse.

“That’s by far the biggest problem,” said Pieterse. “If you’ve seen the statistics, that’s the plastic that gets the lowest recycling rate in the country. Only about five percent of 15 billion pounds of film is recycled. And that’s why we are focusing on solving a problem that’s not really being solved by others.”

Plastic film is used to wrap pallets of products for shipping, for producing plastic bags and for material to wrap boats and agricultural products for protection from the weather.

two hands hold small plastic pellets
The Myplas USA plant in Rogers recycles plastic film and converts the material into recycled resin pellets that can be incorporate into new film products.
Courtesy of Myplas

The Rogers facility is the first U.S. plant built by Myplas, a South African company. Pieterse said it made sense to build in Minnesota because there’s a large gap in plastic recycling in the Midwest. Financial support from regional businesses and economic development organizations was another key reason for locating in the state, he said.

A coalition of Minnesota groups has been working to address the lack of recycling for plastic film for about a decade. The goal is to recycle the film into new materials that companies can use, said JoAnne Berkenkamp, managing director of MBOLD, an initiative of the GREATER MSP Partnership that works on addressing problems related to the agricultural and food industries.

“The key to creating a circular economy is that you have the connections between entities that are using that film, recyclers, and the entities that can make that recycled resin into new products,” said Berkenkamp.

workers sort recycled plastic
The Myplas USA plant in Rogers will ramp up production early next year. It is expected to employ nearly 200 people once it is operating at full capacity.
Courtesy of Myplas

Minnesota’s collaboration has attracted attention from communities outside of the state, she said.

“What we’re doing here with Myplas is making Minnesota a national model,” said Berkenkamp. “This is a great example of people coming together to tackle a major environmental challenge by working together.”

The new plant is highly automated but will have as many as 200 employees when operating at full capacity.