Community reels after $300 million project is unexpectedly pulled: 'I am personally devastated'

Yahoo

19-04-2025

Governmental shake-ups have forced plans for a Pennsylvania recycling plan to be scrapped, Waste Dive reported.
International Recycling Group announced it will no longer build a planned $300 million plastic and battery recycling plant in Erie. The company had previously been chosen for a $182 million loan from the Department of Energy, but under changes made by the Trump administration, that loan's status is now uncertain.
Waste Dive reports that IRG is one of many companies to pull back on projects because of uncertain funding. In the wake of laws such as the Inflation Reduction Act, the DOE significantly increased its funding for green projects, including recycling plants.
But upon taking office, Trump signaled his desire to end many rebates, credits, and funding for eco-friendly projects.
IRG also cited other political factors, such as global tariffs, "resulting in expectations of substantially higher project development costs than anticipated."
The Erie Times-News reports that the plant was expected to convert 160,000 tons of plastic each year into roughly 100,000 tons of recycled material. It was also supposed to create 300 jobs.
CEO and founder of IRG Mitch Hecht said in a statement, according to Waste Dive: "I am personally devastated after 18 years of working to bring this vision to a reality that we have failed to overcome these challenges."
Even before its cancellation, the plant had been in the middle of some controversy. The Sierra Club opposed the plant's construction, saying "plastics recycling does not exist in any meaningful form," and that it promoted the use of fossil fuels.
Plastic is one of the planet's biggest pollutants, so finding ways to turn it into reusable, recyclable material could be beneficial.
Studies have shown that only 9% or so of plastic is properly recycled. Instead, much of it ends up in our landfills and oceans. There are an estimated 170 trillion pieces of plastic in the ocean, and more than 48 million tons in landfills.
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Not surprisingly, the effects of this pollution can be devastating. Research estimates that whales ingest up to 10 million pieces of microplastic each day, and plastic trash is carrying coastal species to new, unfamiliar parts of the ocean.
Using less plastic in our everyday lives can help cut down on waste and pollution.
As mentioned, funding for many rebates and credits within the IRA may be on the chopping block, although congressional approval would be required to do so.
By acting quickly, individuals can still take advantage of many of those benefits to save significant money on various eco-friendly upgrades, such as purchasing an electric vehicle, installing solar panels, and buying a heat pump.
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