Plastic Revolutions expands Reidsville plant

Dec 05, 2023

John Hagan owner of Plastic Revolutions

Ed Handy plant manager for Plastic Revolutions

REIDSVILLE — Plastic Revolutions, a full-service plastic recycler, expanded its Reidsville processing plant. The company invested $600,000 in new equipment and created 35 new jobs at its Barnes Street facility.

Plastic Revolutions has fabricated a 16-station sorting line and installed a new automatic wire tie baler. This line is used to sort post-consumer plastic known as 1-7 bales and bulky mixed rigid bales. There is not enough recycling capacity to handle this type commodity currently in the U.S. Much of this plastic was going to China until they blocked importation of scrap plastic.

"The main plastic we will be sorting out and baling from the 1-7 bales are soda bottles (PET) which are baled and sold to Unifi's bottle processing plant here in Reidsville. The other plastic is used by Plastic Revolutions," said Eddie Handy, vice president at Plastic Revolutions. "The State of North Carolina is currently accepting proposals for recycling grants for recycling bulky rigid containers. This attests to the shortage of recycling infrastructure for these materials

Handy added, "Labor shortages have caused us to start an apprenticeship program for Rockingham County high school students to work on this new line as well as other jobs in the plant. We are waiting on the State's final approval of this apprenticeship program. Once we receive approval, we plan to hire 16, 17 and 18 year-old students with the guarantee of a permanent job when they graduate from high school.

The company is excited about partnering with the local schools, Rockingham Community College and the State of North Carolina on the apprenticeship program, Handy said.

"The expansion at Plastic Revolutions is great news," said Jan Critz, director of the Rockingham County Center for Economic Development and Tourism. "We are excited to see this local recycler growing and succeeding here, while also helping our environment and working with our local students."

Plastic Revolutions opened its current 300,000 square-foot facility in 2007. The company has experienced steady growth over the last decade and has 74 employees. It recycles all forms and grades of plastic scrap, specializing in high molecular weight plastics. It also processes post-consumer plastic bottles from used detergent, milk jugs and other consumer products. Plastic Revolutions produces around 5 million pounds of recycled plastic pellets per month.

"This announcement is great news for Reidsville and Rockingham County. We have a local plant expanding to help ensure raw product for another local manufacturer's fabric and students can be engaged to enter the workforce immediately upon graduation. A triple win from our perspective," said Reidsville Mayor Jay Donecker.

"I am pleased that Plastic Revolutions has chosen Reidsville for this exciting expansion project. We value our existing industries and look forward to working with them on continued success," said Jeff Garstka, director of Economic Development for the City of Reidsville. "Plastic Revolutions fits well into a niche that we have in Reidsville and Rockingham County within the plastics industry and we hope that sector continues to grow."

​Contact Gerri Hunt at (336) 349 -4331, ext. 6137 and follow @HuntGerri_RCN on Twitter.

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