PolyJohn tackles complex work for zero pellet spills

When Indiana plastics company PolyJohn Enterprises Corp. first learned in mid-2020 that resin pellets from its factory were leaking into nearby wetlands, one executive said the news was distressing.

The situation had started with complaints from local residents but soon morphed into repeat inspections from regulators, a fine of $11,350 and a negotiated cleanup agreement with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. The company, which said it's the world's second-largest maker of portable toilets, said it's spent more than $100,000 on new equipment and added staff to try to prevent spills.

But going back to those first days, Chief Operating Officer Sam Cooper said it was a shock to employees at the Whiting, Ind., facility, which backs into a wetland and recreation area around Lake George.

"To find out that some of our regrind had left our property was a huge blow to the morale of the company and something that we take extremely seriously," he said. "PolyJohn cares deeply about the environment, about Lake George and the community we live in."

The situation first came to public attention two years ago, when people exercising and bird-watching in the recreation area noticed loose resin and plastic powder.

Prompted by those complaints, IDEM inspectors made five visits to the company between July 2020 and April 2021. They noted pellet leaks in their reports and made referrals to the agency's enforcement staff. In dry, factual language, they documented small pieces of plastic in the wetlands and on the company's property, both in the storm sewers and in other parts of the factory grounds.

"At the time of the inspection, it was noted that PolyJohn discharged plastics to wetlands that are part of George Lake, in violation of [state laws]," the initial report noted.

In a follow-up inspection in October 2020, IDEM investigators noted that pellets were still there but the situation had improved.

"While some plastics were still visible, there was marked improvement in housekeeping since the July 21, 2020, complaint investigation," according to the October 2020 report.

Still, later inspections continued to find problems. IDEM said on-site examinations in April 2021 and March 2022, prompted by complaints from residents, turned up more plastic in the environment. The April 2021 report said the public noticed gray plastic powder in the wetlands.

As well, the March 25, 2022, inspection reported gray rotational molding powder in drainage systems and noted that company staff said they had been cleaning it up since the previous day, when a complaint was made to IDEM.

Cooper said the March inspection this year, even after efforts to lessen spills, shows the challenges in reaching the company's goal of zero discharge of plastic.

"I interpret it as there are still improvements that can be made," he said. "Our goal is zero, but that's extremely difficult to achieve."

He said he doesn't know precisely how much plastic the company has collected in its cleanups, suggesting it could be under 10 pounds in an incident. But he said it's a tiny fraction of the 18 million pounds of resin it uses each year.

"We've made good progress, and 10 pounds out of 18 million is a low percentage, but it's still not zero," Cooper said. "The goal is zero, absolutely. We cannot let our material leave the property. It's not being a good neighbor to the community."

In the interview, Cooper mentioned he was meeting later that week with city officials to update them.

The company has committed to a compliance plan with the state, and after the April 2021 inspection, PolyJohn sent a letter to IDEM outlining what it was doing. That's included hiring a full-time person to monitor leakage and cleanup, buying a street sweeper and vacuum units, netting and containment booms, and staff training.

Part of the challenge, he said, is the growth the company's been having. Business ramped up during COVID-19, as it added hand manufacturing of sanitizing stations, and more storage was forced outside.

The company has 250 employees in Indiana and at another factory in Canada, and together they churn out tens of thousands of portable plastic toilets a year. Cooper said PolyJohn is the world's second-largest maker of the on-the-go restrooms and uses several plastics processes on-site, including rotomolding, extrusion, thermoforming and injection molding.

Another challenge for the cleanup has been contamination from previous heavy manufacturing like metals processing and refineries in the immediate area, he said. At one point, PolyJohn wanted to dig up soil to see what plastic pellets were underground, but state officials would not let them, for fear of disturbing lead contamination in the soil, Cooper said.

"This property has a really bad history," Cooper said. "We wanted to dig up any regrind that had left the property, if it was on the surface, because we weren't sure how far or how long it had been going on.

"But IDEM said you can't dig; you might expose lead contamination," he said. "It's a really, really tricky situation. … IDEM is saying don't dig, don't disturb soil at all, because we might make the problem worse."

Local governments have spent a lot of time and money in recent years trying to restore and improve the area around the lake, building trails and a golf course, he said.

"The local community has really started to clean this area up," Cooper said. "We're kind of the last vestige of industry in this area, so I would say some of the pressure has been high lately."

The Times of Northwest Indiana newspaper reported that local environmentalists have been monitoring the pellet leaks closely and worry that plastic from PolyJohn will make it harder to ultimately clean up the lake area.

PolyJohn's situation, at least measured by the dollar amount of the fine, is on a much smaller scale than some other recent pellet spills. Formosa Plastics paid $50 million to settle a lawsuit in 2019 over pellet leakage from a large resin plant in Texas, and a South Carolina company, Frontier Logistics, paid $1 million to settle a case there last year.

The topic has been getting attention from lawmakers as well. The U.S. House last year passed a bill that would have required the Environmental Protection Agency to write tougher rules around pellet leaks, but that legislation did not pass the Senate.

While the PolyJohn situation may be on a smaller scale than some others, Cooper said the company takes it seriously.

"At this point, we're trying to do everything we can to show that we are good neighbors, that we do care, by getting out in the community and starting to rebuild the image that we lost with this spill," he said.