State Lends $1 Million to Plastic Recycler: Funds will support environmental health, create dozens of jobs 

SACRAMENTO--The California Integrated Waste Management Board approved a nearly $1 million loan to Viscotec Corporation in Tulare County to bolster the growing market in California for recycled-content products.

The low-interest loan from the Recycling Market Development Zone (RMDZ) program will help divert an additional 12,000 tons of plastic waste per year from California landfills and create 30 jobs.

"California businesses have always played an important role in diverting waste and protecting the environment," said Board Chair Margo Reid Brown. "Now, more than ever, it is important for the Board to support these innovative leaders that are working to minimize threats to California's fragile environment."

Viscotec Corporation plans to purchase equipment that will wash and process waste plastic material into plastic resin and pellets. The resin and pellets can be used by other manufacturers to created recycled material products. This will be Viscotec’s first plastic manufacturing plant in North America. They are affiliated with Chuang Tieh Plastic Machinery Co. Ltd., a Taiwan-based plastic recycling equipment manufacturing company.

A Waste Board study in 2004 found that plastic film, packaging containers, and other plastic items make up 9.5 percent, or 3.8 million tons, of the waste disposed each year in California landfills. Plastic materials released into the environment can also be harmful to wildlife because the materials do not decompose but merely accumulate, creating long-term environmental problems.

The Recycling Market Development Zone program, funded by tipping fees collected from landfills, combines recycling with economic development to assist new or existing businesses, create jobs, and divert waste from landfills. This program provides attractive loans, technical assistance, and free product marketing to businesses that use materials from the waste stream to manufacture their products.

The program is available to businesses throughout nearly 50 percent of California.

California's recycling industry now accounts for 85,000 jobs. It generates $4 billion yearly in salaries and wages, and produces $10 billion worth of goods and services annually. Recycling has become a viable, mainstream industry that is equivalent to the size of the motion picture industry in California..

The California Integrated Waste Management Board is the state's leading authority on recycling and waste reduction. It promotes reducing waste whenever possible, managing all materials to their highest and best use and protecting public health and safety and the environment.

The California Integrated Waste Management Board is one of six boards, departments, and offices within the California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA).

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