|
The
operation will sort and recycle postconsumer plastics.
November 12, 2015 / Recycling Today Staff
QRS of Maryland LLC,
a joint venture between St. Louis-based QRS and Canusa Hershman Recycling Co.,
with corporate offices in Baltimore and in Branford, Connecticut, has opened a
recycling facility in Dundalk, Maryland, to separate and recycle postconsumer
plastics. The $15 million plant with more than $10 million in high-tech
processing equipment will create 60 full-time jobs, according to the company.
“QRS of Maryland
brings new jobs, new investment and a steady stream of plastics recycling that
will help us all live in a more environmentally friendly way,” says Baltimore
County Executive Kevin Kamenetz. “Dundalk’s central Mid-Atlantic location,
transportation and distribution routes are a perfect fit for the growing
domestic plastic recycling business.”
Kamenetz adds, “With
this new plant, QRS of Maryland is helping to reshore the plastic manufacturing
business to the United States. With reliable, large quantities of sorted and
cleaned plastic available for re-use, manufacturers can more easily expand
product lines using recycled plastic.”
The QRS of Maryland
facility was funded in part by the Closed
Loop Fund, an investment fund that makes
below-market loans for recycling infrastructure. The Dundalk plant is the
Closed Loop Fund’s first investment in a full recycling facility. (For more on
the Closed Loop Fund’s recent investments, click here.
The Closed Loop Fund
has established partnerships with major corporations, including Procter &
Gamble, 3M, Wal-Mart and Johnson and Johnson.
"Our newest
plastic recovery facility in Baltimore County provides communities and
recyclers throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions with a reliable,
domestic processing solution for mixed postconsumer plastic containers,” says
Greg Janson, CEO of QRS.
The QRS plant
combines technology that will allow the plant to separate products by resin
type and recycle them into raw materials for new products and packaging. The
facility incorporates the latest optical scanning and cleaning equipment and is
able to process 4,500 tons of materials every month—nearly double the capacity
of what’s presently available domestically, QRS of Maryland says.
Baltimore County is assisting QRS as it recruits workers for the plant.
“Our career centers in Eastpoint, Liberty Road and Hunt Valley can help job
seekers interested in working at the QRS plant,” says Will Anderson, director
of the Department of Economic and Workforce Development.
|
