MINNEAPOLIS–SAINT PAUL, Minn., Feb. 08, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MBOLD is pleased to announce that our partner, Myplas USA, has been awarded the Economic Development Association of Minnesota’s (EDAM) prestigious “Project of the Year” award for 2023.
With investment from MBOLD members and other stakeholders, Myplas USA is establishing a $24M state-of-the-art flexible film recycling plant in Rogers, Minnesota, that will employ about 270 people at full capacity. This is the first U.S. location for Myplas, which is one of South Africa’s largest plastics recyclers.
The Myplas USA project is the result of a groundbreaking collaboration led by Minnesota’s MBOLD coalition, an initiative of the GREATER MSP Partnership. The coalition and its members General Mills, Schwan’s Company, Target, Ecolab, Cargill, and the University of Minnesota are working across the value chain to catalyze a regional circular economy for flexible films and packaging materials, such as pallet wrap, shrink wrap, boat wrap and various kinds of food packaging.
“This project puts Minnesota on the cutting edge of both innovation and sustainability, while securing our position as a competitive and collaborative market for foreign direct investment,” said Peter Frosch, President and CEO of the GREATER MSP Partnership, which powers the MBOLD coalition. “Thanks to this unique collaboration, we are able to tackle a large-scale sustainability challenge while creating jobs.”
This new initiative will expand film recycling infrastructure and increase the supply of recycled resin for use in new film products, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and curtailing waste.
Slated to begin operations in summer 2023, Myplas’ new 170,000-square-foot mechanical recycling plant aims to recycle nearly 90 million pounds of low- and high-density polyethylene packaging and film annually at full capacity. That’s enough plastic to circle the equator 137 times per year.
The U.S. uses 12-15 billion pounds of flexible packaging and films annually, including select food packaging, shopping bags, shrink wrap, pallet wrap, e-commerce mailers, lawn and garden bags, and hay bale wrap, among many other products. However, only an estimated five percent of flexible films used in the U.S. are recycled each year, with the rest being landfilled, incinerated or released into the environment.
The MBOLD initiative includes a combined $9.2 million equity investment in Myplas USA by lead investors General Mills, Schwan’s Company and Wisconsin-based film manufacturing partner Charter Next Generation, and supporting investors Target and Ecolab.
“We are delighted that Myplas has been chosen as EDAM’s “Project of the Year,” said MBOLD Managing Director JoAnne Berkenkamp. “This recognition highlights that this type of innovative collaboration is just what the region needs to drive environmental sustainability while also creating economic opportunity.”
About MBOLD
MBOLD is a coalition of Minnesota-based food and agriculture business leaders and innovators working collaboratively to accelerate solutions to the most pressing challenges facing food and agriculture, particularly our changing climate and other natural resources challenges, and growing global food demand. MBOLD member companies reach consumers in more than 125 countries around the world and taken collectively, their revenues total nearly $300 billion per year. MBOLD is an initiative of the GREATER MSP Partnership. Learn more at www.mbold.org.
About the GREATER MSP Partnership
GREATER MSP is the economic development partnership for the 15-county Minneapolis Saint Paul region. Over 300 leading businesses, universities, cities, counties, philanthropies, and others are working together to accelerate the competitiveness of the regional economy and drive inclusive economic growth by creating jobs, expanding our labor force, and increasing investment. For more information go to greatermsp.org.
About Myplas USA
Myplas USA, Inc., is a flexible films recycling and pelletizing company which will establish its first U.S. location in Rogers, Minn. Myplas will recycle both low-density PE (LDPE) and high-density PE (HDPE) and produce both food grade and non-food grade recycled resin. Myplas USA is the first international subsidiary of Myplas Ltd. of Cape Town, South Africa, and is dedicated to pioneering a circular economy for plastic film.
About the Economic Development Association of Minnesota (EDAM)
EDAM is a professional association of individuals and organizations throughout the state of Minnesota who share this mission. We pursue our mission by providing economic development professionals a forum for exchanging information and staying abreast of current economic development strategies and practices and by providing them with valuable networking and educational opportunities. EDAM members are leading economic developers in the state of Minnesota. EDAM consults with the state on public policy issues related to economic development and helps continually define and improve the profession.
