Dive Brief:
- The Atlanta division of PET recycler QRS has filed for bankruptcy. This will not affect its other facilities in St. Louis and Baltimore, CEO Greg Janson told Resource Recycling.
- According to filings, QRS Recycling of Georgia is carrying more than $14 million in debt. Approximately $500,000 is due to creditors and the remaining amount is owed to the company's primary secured creditor, PrivateBank.
- The company's request for a Chapter 11 filing will be heard on June 14.
Dive Insight:
The company stopped operations in Atlanta a few weeks ago and is now sending all material to its St. Louis and Baltimore facilities. The site opened in 2011 and was processing about 39 million pounds of mixed plastics every year. Janson cited shifts in commodity prices as the main reason for the division's downturn.
Fluctuating PET prices have proven challenging for many recyclers lately, though some other companies have found ways to make money from the material. Verdeco Recycling will be opening its second facility in Indiana this month and Custom Synthetic Fibers will be opening a facility to create recycled polyester fiber from PET in Alabama in July.
