Blue Polymers Breaks Ground On Recycled Plastics Production Facility In Buckeye

BUCKEYE, AZ (September 25, 2024) — Today, leaders from Blue Polymers, LLC; Republic Services (NYSE: RSG); the Arizona Commerce Authority and the City of Buckeye broke ground on Blue Polymers’ newest innovative recycled plastics production facility, which will support sustainable packaging manufacturing across the Western United States. The 162,000-square-foot facility is expected to create more than 60 highly skilled permanent local jobs when it opens in Buckeye in the second half of 2025.

The Blue Polymers facility will specialize in recycled polyethylene, commonly found in milk jugs and laundry detergent bottles, and polypropylene, used in consumer packaging like margarine tubs and yogurt cups. These plastics will be processed and formulated into high-quality, drop-in solutions for the packaging industry.

“Blue Polymers was created to meet the need for high-quality recycled plastics for use in consumer packaging and other applications,” said Tim Oudman, Senior Vice President, Sustainability Innovation at Republic Services and a member of Blue Polymers’ board of directors. “We’re grateful to the City of Buckeye and the Arizona Commerce Authority for their support for this project, as well as to our development partners at Merit, FCL Builders and Butler Design Group.”

Phoenix-based Republic Services, a joint venture partner in Blue Polymers, is developing a network of regional plastics recycling facilities called Polymer Centers. These centers, the first of their kind in North America, produce high-quality, color-sorted recycled plastics directly from Republic’s national curbside collection operations. Each Republic Polymer Center will be paired with a Blue Polymers facility; the Buckeye facility will process materials from Republic’s Las Vegas Polymer Center, which opened in late 2023.

“We are excited to celebrate the groundbreaking of Blue Polymers’ recycled plastics production facility in Buckeye,” said Sandra Watson, President and CEO of the Arizona Commerce Authority. “The addition of this facility adds to Arizona’s leadership in sustainable technologies while creating more jobs for Arizona residents.”

“This regional recycling plant solidifies Buckeye’s commitment to bringing high-quality, advanced manufacturing jobs to our residents,” said Buckeye Mayor Eric Orsborn. “Blue Polymers’ investment in the city, along with their innovative strategies to use recycled plastics for everyday consumer products, will ensure we remain a vibrant, sustainable community.”

Demand is rising for domestically sourced, high-quality recycled plastics from both voluntary sustainability commitments and state legislation. Many consumer-packaged goods (CPG) companies are pledging to incorporate more recycled content into their packaging designs. At the same time, five states have implemented minimum recycled content requirements for single-use packaging. Republic’s Polymer Centers and Blue Polymers’ innovative facilities will help meet this demand.

Blue Polymers’ facilities aim to support true package-to-package circularity, with an annual production target of 300+ million pounds of recycled resins. The Buckeye facility joins the previously announced Indianapolis location as part of Blue Polymers’ network of four regional facilities.

Media Contacts
Blue Polymers: [email protected]

Alyssa Tufts, Arizona Commerce Authority, [email protected]

Annie DeChance, City of Buckeye, [email protected]

About Blue Polymers
Blue Polymers, LLC is a joint venture bringing together leaders in collection, recycling, processing and distribution to transform plastics circularity and support sustainable packaging. Learn more at BluePolymers.com.

About the Arizona Commerce Authority
The Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) is the state's leading economic development organization with a streamlined mission to grow and strengthen Arizona's economy. The ACA uses a three-pronged approach to advance the overall economy: attract, expand, create - attract out-of-state companies to establish operations in Arizona; work with existing companies to expand their business in Arizona and beyond; and help entrepreneurs create new Arizona businesses in targeted industries. For more information, please visit azcommerce.com and follow the ACA on Twitter @azcommerce.