Oct. 12—Incoming company Encina, which plans to build a $1.1 billion manufacturing facility along Route 11 in Point Township to facilitate the recycling of plastics, has signed on its first customer.

On Tuesday afternoon, Encina Chief Executive Officer Dave Roesser, Encina Director of Government Relations and Compliance Michael Marr and Bravo Group Senior Director Steve Kratz spoke with The Daily Item and discussed the latest updates to the project to build a circular manufacturing facility, which is expected to open in 2025.

They explained that AmSty, a leading integrated producer of polystyrene and styrene monomer, signed the first offtake agreement, which is an arrangement between a producer and a buyer to purchase or sell portions of the producer's upcoming goods.

"They signed an agreement to purchase approximately 20 million pounds of materials that are coming out of the plant for the next seven years," said Roesser. "They will use those materials to make new plastics for their customers. That's a positive story about the circular that we're talking about."

Encina's process demonstration unit in Texas is up and running, showing that the company can take post-consumer waste plastic (also known as end-of-life plastic), put it through the process and make new plastics. This demonstration proved to customers like AmSty that the process could be done, said Roesser and Marr.

"It was important for customers to see it work at a certain scale before they signed up," said Roesser. "That scale is approximately 1,000 tons of material a year out of that facility (in Texas)."

AmSty uses the materials in products such as medical labware and equipment, food service packaging, commercial and residential insulation, appliances, consumer electronics, thermoformed applications, automobile components, adhesives and solvents, synthetic countertops, printer toner, paints and inks, lubricants, tires and rubber, grout, asphalt, manufacturing heat transfer products, flame retardants, automobile parts, paints and coatings and electronics, according to its website.

In 2020, AmStye recycled more than 1.5 million pounds of polystyrene, the equivalent of more than 56 million foam cups. AmSty has committed to a 2030 goal that all polystyrene products designed for food packaging applications will contain at least 30 percent recycled content.

DRIVE purchases land

In September, Encina announced that the economic development agency DRIVE (Driving Real Innovation for a Vibrant Economy) purchased land to facilitate the planning and development of a new circular manufacturing operation that developers say could inject more than $1 billion into the local economy and create hundreds of new jobs.

DRIVE, which serves Northumberland, Union, Snyder, Montour and Columbia counties, owns a 101-acre site along Route 11 in Point Township. Encina signed a 25-year lease on the property for the intended location of Encina's flagship circular manufacturing facility.

Earlier this year, Encina announced its state-of-the-art plant, the only one of its kind in the nation. It would use advanced, proven technologies to convert recycled plastic materials into a raw product that could be used by other manufacturers to create thousands of new plastic-type products.

The facility is expected to divert up to 450,000 tons of materials from landfills, incinerators and other less desirable endpoints. The facility will reduce the need to produce new plastic from oil and gas resources, providing sustainable solutions to customers committed to reducing their impact on the environment and catalyzing the transition to a circular economy.

The Encina Point Township Circular Manufacturing Facility will bring 600 to 900 construction jobs and 300 full-time jobs to the area, with an average salary of $75,000, DRIVE officials said.

Site work begins

Site work has begun for permitting purposes. They are working with federal, state and local departments to apply for permits, said Roesser.

Marr said they have had good cooperation with the local government and great support from governmental leaders.

"There's tremendous interest in what we're doing from a job and economic perspective as well as an environmental perspective," said Marr.

Roesser said Encina's DNA is all about being environmentally friendly and sustainable.

"That's what we think about and do on a regular basis," said Roesser. "That's why we're part of Encina. We're trying to alleviate issues of waste plastics getting into the environment. We're trying to alleviate issues around fossil fuel-based materials."

Roesser said Encina will go through all the right processes to make sure they have all the right policies and abatement systems in place so there are no issues with the plant.

"Part of my focus is to make sure these communities around us can be proud of what we're doing, and be proud that they can point to the facility that not only is it good for the environment, but it's also a great community partner," he said.

Encina plans to expand over the next five years across the world. Point Township will be the demonstration site, he said.