A plastics recycler in Indiana that oversees a unique effort to turn used caps into new benches has found a buyer and will remain open after all.
News of sale of the Green Tree Plastics LLC of Evansville comes just weeks after Green Tree indicated it would close as owners Brent and Bonnie Grafton had decided to retire.
Reaction to that news was swift, Green Tree Vice President Cara Bornefeld said in a Sept. 19 interview.
Green Tree was swamped with interest from other manufacturers of plastic lumber once word of the planned closure was revealed, she said.
"It's been exciting the last couple of weeks. As soon as we posted, everybody just came out of the woodwork [showing interest]," Bornefeld said.
She declined to reveal the identity of the new owner but did indicate the change will take place Jan. 1.
Green Tree partners with groups from around the country to collect plastic caps used for feedstock to make new products through a program called the ABC Promise Partnership. ABC stands for A Bench for Caps.
The company also makes plastic lumber and products independent of the ABC bench program.
"Green Tree Plastics has received a formal offer for purchase and will be under the guidance of new ownership!! Brent and Bonnie will be able to retire and Green Tree will still be able to offer our ABC Promise Partnership to all of our wonderful groups to continue this closed loop recycling program. Also, our team can continue to call Green Tree their home, which makes us extremely happy!" the company said in a Sept. 19 Facebook post.
Dozens of people replied within hours of the Sept. 19 announcement, offering congratulations as well as thanks that the ABC program will continue.
The ABC partnership, which has attracted participation from groups located across the country, is just one facet of Green Tree, which makes plastic lumber and then products including benches and tables made from that lumber. The company also produces a variety of other products from recycled plastics, including parking stops, trash receptacles and molded parts.
"Moving forward, the new owners would like to restart production as quickly as possible," Green Tree said.
"Thank you all for your support and patience through this transition, we wanted to communicate with our mentors as information was passed to us so everyone could prepare for the worst and hope for the best, thank goodness the best is the direction we are going to be able to move toward," the social media post reads. "There are some big future changes on the horizon, again we will update you as soon as things are set into motion, just know we are excited and happy to be able to continue to move forward."
Green Tree has recycled both high and low density polyethylene and polypropylene caps and lids in the ABC Promise Partnership.
Bornefeld said employees are "over the moon" with the news that the company will not close. Green Tree is a small operation, she said, typically employing 12 to 16 workers at any one time.
"Our employees have been with us for years. We have some pretty dedicated team members so nobody wanted to go anywhere," she said.