‘Devastated’: $300m US recycling plant cancelled over tariffs ...Middle East

A US company has cancelled plans to build a $300m plastic waste recycling plant in Erie, Pennsylvania, citing concerns about the financial case for the project in light of cuts in federal funding and tariff-driven import costs, the Erie Reader reports.

The facility was to have been sited in a former paper mill in the town.

International Recycling Group (IRG) said the tariffs imposed by President Trump would have increased the cost of the plant’s equipment.

There was also doubt about whether a $192m loan from the Environmental Protection Agency would go ahead following a temporary freeze on federal funding commitments issued by the Department of Energy’s Loan Programmes Office.

A third concern was lack of supply and demand for its products amid the US’ decreasing interest in sustainability.

“Over four years ago, we brought the IRG project to Erie with the intention of creating high-paying, family-sustaining jobs and turning Erie into a leader in environmental sustainability by replacing new plastic production with reused and recycled materials gathered from homes across the region,” said IRG chief executive Mitch Hecht.

He added: “I am personally devastated after 18 years of working to bring this vision to a reality that we have failed to overcome these challenges.”

If it had gone ahead, the facility would have created 250 jobs and converted 160,000 tons of plastic waste into 100,000 tons of recycled plastics.

Brandon Mendoza, the chief executive of Erie’s Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership, said his organisation was frustrated by the “financial pressure building due to economic uncertainty at the federal level”.

He said: “This project had significant support at the state and local level, across public and private sectors, and to see it pulled is a significant loss.” 

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‘Devastated’: $300m US recycling plant cancelled over tariffs Global Construction Review.

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