Office of Public Affairs
For Immediate Release: May 17, 2018
News Release #2018-13
Media Contact: Heather Jones
SACRAMENTO – The California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery has approved a $1 million loan to expand a San Joaquin Valley company that makes bottles from recycled paper and plastic.
The Recycling Market Development Zone loan was awarded to Ecologic Brands of Manteca. It will help Ecologic utilize more California-generated cardboard, mixed paper, and plastic to make its paper bottles—diverting an estimated 488 tons of waste and creating 69 jobs in the process.
“California needs more projects like this to overcome current global market challenges—which can be greatly alleviated by building a more robust recycling infrastructure within our own state,” CalRecycle Director Scott Smithline said. “CalRecycle’s RMDZ loan program has a 25-year history of success supporting local businesses to keep valuable material out of landfills and boosting in-state markets for recyclable material.”
Ecologic will use the $1 million RMDZ loan to help fund the purchase and installation of new manufacturing equipment, which integrates paper/cardboard shells with lightweight plastic bottles to form the finished product. The equipment upgrades are projected to do three things:
- Increase diversion of recycled paper by an additional 359 tons
- Increase diversion of recycled plastic by an additional 129 tons
- Create an additional 69 jobs
CalRecycle Support Available for Recycling Businesses
CalRecycle provides financial and technical assistance to help reuse/recycling-based businesses develop and prosper in California.
CalRecycle’s RMDZ program provides loans, technical assistance, and free product marketing to businesses that use materials from the waste stream to manufacture their products.
- Businesses must be located within RMDZ program FAQs webpage.
- The RMDZ program creates jobs, reduces waste, and helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.
CalRecycle’s California Climate Investment grant and loan programs support the construction, renovation or expansion of facilities that manufacture fiber, plastic, or glass waste materials into beneficial products.
- Find out more about CalRecycle’s California Climate Investments grants and loans.
CalRecycle also assists businesses by helping them locate recycled manufacturing materials; by making permitting referrals; by providing them with demographic and waste stream analysis; and by marketing their products.
For more information contact, the Office of Public Affairs, opa@calrecycle.ca.gov
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CalRecycle's mission is to protect California's environment and climate for the health and prosperity of future generations through the reduction, reuse and recycling of California resources, environmental education, disaster recovery, and the transition from a disposable to a fully circular economy.