Eight employees will lose their jobs in the coming weeks as a plastics recycling facility in Thorold, Ontario, closes.
JBI Inc.'s decision to shutter the site comes as the company will rely instead on “processor-ready plastics” being delivered to its plastics-to-liquid fuel-processing site in Niagara Falls, N.Y.
JBI expects to save $800,000 per year by relying on third parties to deliver recycled plastics to its fuel facility, the company said, adding that it is looking to cut costs aggressively.
“We feel there is a great opportunity to reduce the cost of our fuel production, as a large portion of these costs have been associated with handling and preparing the plastic before it enters our processors in Niagara Falls,” said Chief Financial Officer Nicholas Terranova in a statement.
The company told employees of the decision Aug. 20 before making a public announcement Aug. 26.
The recycling facility also handles recycled paper, but the company indicated in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that sales of recovered paper have been declining and are “not aligned with the company's core business.”
In July, JBI reduced its workforce by 15 people, or about 25 percent. That move, the company said at the time, was expected to save about $1.3 million annually.
The company also made news this summer by entering into a program with Crayola LLC to recycle used markers into liquid fuel.
Crayola had been facing some pressure to find a way to recycle the post-consumer markers before teaming up with JBI. The ColorCycle program also was to handle waste and overruns from Crayola.