Rethinking Recycling

Huge amounts of geomembrane liner (plastic lining used to separate liquids from the environment) are being used (and landfilled) by companies drilling for natural gas in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale region. Ultra-Poly recently developed technology to address the environmental problems and market opportunities created by the huge volumes of geomembrane being used in our area by recycling it. The process is entirely closed-loop, meaning Ultra-Poly accepts geomembrane after screening for contaminants, cleans and shreds the material, and incorporates it into commodity plastic resins and finished products. The company has the capacity to recycle approximately 100,000 pounds/day (2.5 million lbs/month) of post-use geomembrane, and the model is highly scalable.

Why it Matters

The expansion of shale gas exploitation in the Ohio River Valley has been a major story for the plastics industry—mainly for how it gives American resin producers a cost advantage over their foreign counterparts. Any new process creates new side effects, however, and Ultra-Poly’s approach minimizes the environmental impact of shale exploration; its model ensures that the exploitation of shale and other energy resources can be done efficiently without having to wonder what will happen to whatever waste is generated in the process.