Phoenix may see construction of remanufacturing plant

In an effort to find a solution to the growing challenge of plastic waste, the City of Phoenix is thinking about building a plant that would provide new manufactured uses for a variety of discarded plastic goods.

The moves comes in the wake of a decision announced earlier this year by the government of China declining to accept U.S. plastic disposables due to pollution concerns.

A portion of the waste sent to China came from Phoenix, which is worried that its current landfill capacity for such materials may meet its limit in the next decade or so.

If Phoenix does build a plastic waste remanufacturing plant, it will be the first of its kind in the nation.

The plant could prove particularly useful, say Phoenix officials, not only because it will pick up the slack left by the China’s decision to no longer accept such materials, but also because currently only around 10 percent of discarded plastics are recycled in the city.

A decision regarding when a plastics remanufacturing facility will be built in Phoenix is expected to be announced later this year.

By Garry Boulard