NOVA Chemicals is commissioning its first polyethylene (PE) film recycling facility, known as SYNDIGO 1. Located in Connersville, Indiana, the facility is one of the largest plastic film mechanical recycling facilities in the world. Boasting its impressive 450,000 square foot size, the facility will be able to recycle 145,000 bales of end-of-life plastic film, producing over 100 million lbs. of SYNDIGO recycled PE (rLLDPE) which can be used in food and non-food grade packaging.
NOVA Chemicals.
NOVA Chemicals opens PE film recycling facility.
“Our SYNDIGO1 facility is a tangible example of what motivation, collaboration, and market demand can do together,” said Roger Kearns, CEO of NOVA Chemicals. “At NOVA, we have decades of experience in developing products that make our lives better. As of today, we’re not only a petrochemical producer but also a recycler of polyethene. We’re diverting plastic waste from landfills and turning it into new, quality products that help keep our food fresh or safely transport goods and materials to store shelves.”
Mike Braun, Indiana Governor, added, “Indiana is proud to be the home of NOVA Circular Solutions’ new Mechanical Recycling Facility, which will be an industry leader in plastic film recycling. This facility will support around 125 Hoosier jobs and will be a great asset to the Connersville community as well as another world-class example of Indiana’s leadership in the materials industry.”
SYNDIGO1 is expected to go into full production in early 2026. Marking the milestone, NOVA Chemicals hosted a grand opening event that was attended by nearly 100 individuals, including:
- NOVA Chemicals CEO Roger Kearns.
- Novolex Chairman and CEO Stan Bikulege.
- Indiana Secretary of Business Affairs Mike Speedy.
- Indiana State Senator Jeff Raatz.
- Indiana State Representative Lindsay Patterson.
- Mayor of the City of Connersville.
- Representatives from the offices of U.S. Senators Young and Banks and Congressman Jefferson Shreve.
- Representatives from NOVA Chemicals’ Board of Directors, Novolex executives and employees, customers, Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) firms, and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM).
NOVA announced its intention to build the facility in July 2023, as well as its plan to work with Novolex to operate the facility. The following year, the facility’s mechanical recycling process received a first-of-its-kind Letter of Non-Objection (LNO) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. This confirmed the facility’s ability to produce post-consumer rLLDPE that can be used in food-contact applications. In April of this year, the facility achieved the Recycled Material Standard certification from Green Blue, verifying that the SYNDIGO recycled polyethene produced at the facility is 100% post-consumer recycled content.
NOVA Chemicals works with several manufacturers and distributors including:
- Charter Next Generation.
- M.Holland.
- Osterman & Company.
- Petoskey Plastics.
- PolyExpert.
- Pregis.
- Sigma Plastics Group.
- Winpak.
SYNDIGO1 works with major retailers and distribution centres across the USA to collect back-of-store polyethene film. This helps to provide a consistent and clean feedstock for recycled PE. On average, the facility will collect 400 bales of plastic film each day, or 14,000 bales each month.
Plastic film waste will be processed into pellets and then sold as NOVA Chemicals’ SYNDIGO recycled linear, low-density polyethene (rLLDPE). The solution can be used in a wide variety of packaging applications, including trash can liners and food packaging.