In a landmark acquisition deal, Diamond Bar-based beverages giant Niagara Bottling is reopening a 305,000-plus square-foot recycling and packaging facility in Vernon, the first in the company’s vertically integrated portfolio.

Bought from rPlanet Earth Los Angeles Holdings, the facility previously reprocessed curbside bales – compacted bundles of postconsumer polyethylene terephthalate (PET) – into food-grade containers, making 80 million pounds of packaging a year, according to industry reports. It shuttered last September amid stiff competition with cheap, abundant virgin plastic and imported materials, according to Washington-based Association of Plastic Recyclers.

Now, it will become a subsidiary of Niagara Bottling, bringing 60 jobs back to the area.

Rali Sanderson, president of Niagara Bottling, told the Business Journal that the move will help the company achieve more vertical integration and provide bottle-to-bottle circularity for the family-owned business and its customers. Founded in 1963, it is the largest private label bottling company in North America, with collaborations across major retailers such as Costco Wholesale Corp., Walmart Inc., Target Corp. and Smart & Final.

“(PET) is the most recycled plastic in the world, and it’s actually the most recycled material here in California. And we want to keep that momentum going,” Sanderson said. “We’ll be able to take those same bottles back and then use them again for our own needs and our customers’ needs.”

The facility will be able to process B-bales from mixed recycling bins, considered more difficult to repurpose, into pellets and flakes for reuse. The initial goal is 45 million pounds of recycled PET. Sanderson added that the company will be one of the first few to incorporate this process into its operations and that a second recycling line will be in the works after the first is up and running.

Niagara Bottling, initially founded in Irvine, plans to add new equipment to the Vernon facility and does not yet have a reopening date set.

Recycling landscape

The transaction came at a time when plastic recycling is in dire straits. The Association of Plastic Recyclers reported last month that the country lost about a quarter of its PET recycling capacity in 15 months, closing seven plants and shredding over 650 jobs. Four percent of the recycling capacity came from the rPlanet Earth facility before it closed. Evergreen Recycling also closed its PET sort and wash department in Riverside in February, laying off 57 employees.

The supply is disproportionate to the demand, as 95% of California residents have access to recycling programs by 2024, according to Orange County Register. Without enough recycling facilities, 44.7 million tons or 58% of waste found their way to landfills that year, according to data from California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery.

Mark Murray, executive director of Californians Against Waste, said in a statement that Niagara’s deal ensures “literally billions” of PET containers in recycling to be used again as new.

“More than a feel-good slogan or green label, Niagara is making a tangible investment in California’s closed-loop recycling economy,” Murray said.