Dive Brief:
- The California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) announced Tuesday it is approving nearly $4 million in Recycling Market Development Zone (RMDZ) loans to help boost the state's carpet and paper recycling industries.
- Princess Paper, Inc. in Los Angeles County will receive a $1.925 million loan to purchase new equipment to expand an existing recycled paper manufacturing facility. Circular Polymers LLC in Placer County will receive a $2 million loan to purchase and install new equipment that will expand carpet recycling operations at an existing facility.
- CalRecycle predicts the loans will create at least 35 new jobs and increase capacity. The paper facility is predicted to see a 24% increase in diversion per year and the carpet recycling facility will see a diversion increase of 91% per year.
Dive Insight:
CalRecycle has loaned more than $145 million since the RMDS program started in 1993. That money has been spread between more than 200 California companies, all with the goal of keeping material out of landfills and improving statewide recycling.
California, like other West Coast states, has been dealing with the impacts of China's waste import restrictions. While companies say they're finding new markets, MRFs have slowed down their lines, and reports indicate material may be piling up more than usual.
China was the dominant discussion at a recent CalRecycle meeting, too. The agency reasonably is hoping to boost its own recycling capacity with these loans, since China is no longer seen as a wholly viable market. CalRecycle Director Scott Smithline said in a statement these investments will help combat market fluctuations and make "progress toward achieving the state’s greenhouse gas reduction and 75% recycling goals."
These specific loans fall in line with CalRecycle's recent efforts to pour more money into the state recycling system. The agency gave out $9 million in grants in November for glass and plastics recycling projects. CalRecycle said it received 13 applications totaling more than $30 million for that round of funding.
CalRecycle is not the only state entity to be making moves in the carpet recycling field. Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill in Oct. 2017 that expanded carpet recycling by requiring state entities to prioritize procurement of recycled carpet, tightening rules about how certain monies related to carpet recycling can be used and setting a diversion goal of 24% for post-consumer carpet by 2020.