Some Plastic Recycling On Hold

Plastic recycling in Talkeetna ramped up two years ago. That’s when Alaska Plastic Recovery began taking everything not accepted in the Borough’s recycling program. But the “everything goes” effort will be on hold through the winter while APR works to reorganize.

APR’s Director of Sales and Marketing Rachell Murphy says the company has collected enough plastic for three years of production in the last seven months. APR makes Grizzly Wood, a durable building material made from recycled plastic. The company accepts lawn chairs, broken plant pots, and every other miscellaneous plastic that’s not the right kind for traditional recycling.

Demand for pickups is high and is the most inefficient part of the process. Murphy says while the company stops collecting over winter, they plan to work through their stockpile of plastic to make new products. One product they hope to create is Grizzly Bricks, a new building material, as well as provide different sizes of their existing boards. And they will determine a more efficient way to collect the plastics from the customers.  

Subsidies have helped keep prices for the finished products comparable to traditional lumber prices. But those subsidies will run out at the end of 2024. Murphy says anyone interested in purchasing Grizzly Wood can get the subsidized 2024 rate if they do so before the end of the year. They’ll deliver in spring.

All those broken plastic knick-knacks, toys, and lawn ornaments will have to wait until next year to get recycled.