The basic building blocks of PET are ethylene glycol and terephthalic acid, which are combined to form pellets of PET. These resin pellets are then heated to a molten liquid that can be easily extruded or molded into items of practically any shape.

More specifically, when the two raw materials of PET are combined under high temperatures and low vacuum pressure, long chains of the polymer are formed. As the mixture becomes thicker, the chains grow longer. Once the appropriate chain length is achieved, the reaction is stopped. The resulting spaghetti-like strands of PET are then extruded, quickly cooled, and cut into small pellets.

When the resin pellets are reheated to a molten liquid stage, the polymer chains can be stretched in one direction (for fibers) or in two directions (for bottles and films). If the polymer is cooled quickly while it is stretched, the chains are frozen with their orientation intact. Once set in stretched form, the material is extremely tough.

If PET is held in the stretched form at elevated temperatures, it slowly crystallizes and starts to become opaque, more rigid and less flexible. This crystalline form PET is often used for take-home and prepared-food containers and trays that can be reheated in the oven or microwave.

March 15 — Industrial plastics recycler Continental Waste Management LLC, based in Raleigh, N.C., is investing $6 million to open a plant in Covington, Va., to recycle both post-consumer PET, polypropylene and polyethylene, and post-industrial PP and PE.

Plant manager Mike Wade said the plant will have capacity of 100 million pounds, and be operating “one or two extrusion lines for post-industrial material within 4-5 months.”

He said a wash line to make PET flake and a wash line and an extrusion line to make post-consumer PP and PE pellets will begin operating “as we move toward the end of the year.”

“Within a year, there will be a lot of activity,” Wade said in a phone interview on March 14, shortly after Virginia Gov. Bob McConnell announced the project.

“The plan down-the-road is to mold products” such as wood plastic composite lumber, Wade said, “but that is at least a year-and-one-half away.” The plant will eventually employ 100.

Wade said Continental, which has a post-industrial PP and PE recycling plant at its Raleigh headquarters, is leasing 25% of the space in a now-vacant 500,000-square-foot plant on 100 acres previously used by AET Films, which is part of Applied Extrusion Technologies Inc., based in New Castle, Del.

As part of the deal, Continental Waste also obtains an existing line in the plant for reclaiming post-industrial plastics that includes a granulator and extruder, Wade said.

“We have some modifications to do with the existing equipment,” he said.

Wade said Continental Waste will add the two wash lines, plus bring in “new equipment for post-industrial plastics reclamation.”

He said the plant will be capable of recycling between 250,000-300,000 pounds per day.

“This project is tremendous for Covington and Alleghany County,” McConnell said in a statement. “Not only will Continental Waste Management create 100 new jobs for a region that is striving to rebound, they are able to put a former industrial property back into productive use.”

Wade said Continental chose the AET plant in Covington because of “its infrastructure, a ready workforce in an economically depressed area and because there is a lot of support from technical schools.”

AET closed the plant in 2008, blaming its relatively small size, and moved the work to larger plants in Terre Haute, Ind., and Varennes, Quebec.

“This plant has a lot of infrastructure with the reclaim line that´s already in the plant, rail access and availability of natural gas,” Wade said. He also touted “the availability of a water supply at low-cost from a mountain stream” that is on an adjacent 40 acres.

“There are a lot of opportunities” for other businesses, he said. “This operation is significant because we believe it can act as a catalyst” to bring in other companies to the site.

“I am extremely excited about the growth opportunities,” added Continental Waste Management CEO Ujas Patel in a statement. “Virginia offers us both the infrastructure and qualified workforce needed to support our growth plans.”

McDonnell approved a $150,000 grant from the Governor´s Opportunity Fund to assist the city of Covington with the project. The Virginia Department of Business Assistance, through its Virginia Jobs Investment Program, will provide funding and services to support the company´s recruitment and training activities.

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Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light. Pollutants, the elements of pollution, can be foreign substances or energies or naturally occurring; when naturally occurring, they are considered contaminants when they exceed natural levels. Pollution is often classed as point source or nonpoint source pollution. The Blacksmith Institute issues an annual list of the world’s worst polluted places. In the 2007 issues the ten top nominees are located in Azerbaijan, China, India, Peru, Russia, Ukraine and Zambia

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