Plastics Recycler CarbonLITE Expands Capacity at Dallas Plant

Plastic bottle recycler CarbonLITE has expanded capacity at its Dallas plant in order to provide more recycled PET to its customers. The company, with additional facilities in Riverside, CA and Reading, PA, collectively processes a total of over 7 billion bottles annually, producing recycled PET that is made into new bottles in a closed-loop, bottle-to-bottle system. 

New equipment in the 220,000 square-foot, $62 million Dallas plant, opened in 2017, includes an additional extrusion line, a critical step in the recycling process, that has enabled CarbonLITE to increase the plant’s capacity by 20%. The company’s customers include Coca-Cola, Nestle Waters North America and PepsiCo. Many consumer-goods companies and retailers have committed to increasing recycled content in their packaging to an average of 25% by 2025, compared with the current global average of just 2%, according to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

“We are gratified to be able to provide more raw material to help our customers meet their ambitious goals to increase the amount of recycled plastic they use in their beverage containers and to meet their sustainability targets,” said CarbonLITE CEO Leon Farahnik. 

CarbonLITE also provides recycled PET produced from ocean-bound plastic waste for the new ZenWTR water bottles. Additionally, its PinnPACK Packaging company specializes in food packaging made from recycled plastic, as well. 

“CarbonLITE is committed to environmental stewardship,” Farahnik said. “Recycling is an essential tool in reducing greenhouse gasses and environmental waste. By turning used PET bottles into new PET bottles and products, we are able to conserves virgin resources, reduce landfill, help keep our oceans clean, and capitalize on the energy already invested in making existing plastic products.” 

Here’s a video of the Dallas CarbonLITE plant.