A startup recycling company is set to reach full operation in Mullins, S.C., in February.
Green Fence Recycling Corp. plans to invest $2.5 million in the operation, which should create 40 jobs over the next five years. Green Fence plans to process mixed rigid plastics and polypropylene and to wash PET fines. It intends to market recycled plastics in the United States and China.
Green Fence is occupying a 65,000-square-foot facility in Mullins, in South Carolina's Marion County. The firm was established in 2014 to provide sorting, shredding and cleaning services for the plastics recycling industry.
Green Fence general manager John Parker said in a Dec. 28 news release that government assistance helped his company decide to locate in Marion County. South Carolina's Coordinating Council for Economic Development has approved job development credits and a $100,000 grant to Marion County to help with the costs of real property improvement.
Imports of scrap plastic into China grew last year after slipping markedly in 2013, when Chinese governments cracked down on sloppy environmental controls for imported waste plastics and other materials in an effort dubbed Green Fence.
South Carolina has actively encouraged plastics recyclers to locate in the state. About 300 companies recycling various materials have set up in the state to take advantage of transportation logistics, grants and incentives, and workforce training programs. The state claims it is the sixth largest exporting state of plastic waste, with key destination markets in China, Hong Kong and Ecuador. The state has formalized its recruitment efforts by establishing the Recycling Market Development Advisory Council, a Governor-appointed body supporting recycling through market development, boosting materials recovery and promoting the recycling value chain.