Health and Safety

The information below details our approach and processes to health and safety at our Ashley Circularity Center. We plan to deploy these same standards for our Thomaston Circularity Center.

Our proprietary Plastics Renewal® technology, currently operating in our circularity center in Ashley, IN,  does not involve incineration or combustion of the plastic in any form. We operate our process in an anaerobic, oxygen-starved environment. Our technology uses pyrolysis to break the chemical bonds so that raw materials can be broken down into their original chemical chains and then transformed into other valuable products.

The facility adheres to all local, state, and federal health and safety laws and, in many instances, exceeds these standards. Our circular solutions play a unique role in recapturing the value of plastic waste and returning those raw materials into the circular economy, reducing dependence on fossil fuels for manufacturing virgin materials.

At Brightmark, we follow a set of standards and procedures to cultivate an environment that promotes safety for our employees and the Ashley community. This includes the following:

OPERATING PROCEDURES
Brightmark has a tanker truck-loading procedure to ensure tankers are loaded the same way each time, and our operating procedures ensure federal requirements are met. The Brightmark employees loading trucks have been trained in U.S. Department of Transportation regulations, specifically hazmat safety training.

Tankers are weighed on a scale upon arrival and departure to ensure that they are not overfilled with the product during transport. Before leaving, nitrogen is applied to the inside of the tanker as an additive precaution to reduce hazards during transport. All valves into which the product is loaded are car-sealed closed with numbered metal tags to prevent valves from being opened accidentally.

INSPECTIONS
The trucking companies that provide the tankers are required by the U.S. Department of Transportation to inspect all trailers annually to ensure they are not leaking or emitting vapor. Brightmark requires drivers to provide the tanker’s “last contained” (or a clean certification) to ensure there are no compatibility issues or contamination before being given
the product. 

ADDITIONAL SAFETY MEASURES
Federal regulation requires truck drivers to possess a Hazmat-endorsed Commercial Driver’s License. Brightmark provides drivers with an SDS (safety data sheet), preparing them to communicate with CHEMTREC®, a 24-hour hazmat emergency response service, in case of an emergency.

Brightmark will use closed trucks and/or railcars to transport plastic waste to the circularity center. The processing and recycling operations will occur in the enclosed 300,000-square-foot building. Brightmark will use industry-standard tanker cars that comply with all safety regulations for the transport of circular products from the circularity center. Brightmark’s safety measures will include adhering to all federal regulations and Georgia state codes by working with local and state government officials, specifically the Department of Transportation (DOT).

The safety of our employees and communities is Brightmark’s top priority. We have established relationships with the local fire departments to explain our fire safety plans in detail. Brightmark will invest in safety equipment on-site for the local fire department(s) to use and offer various trainings to guide and teach the local fire department(s) our comprehensive safety standards and processes—including fire safety.

A top priority of Brightmark is the safety of its employees and communities, which is why we have established relationships and strong rapport with local fire departments to bolster our commitments to safety.

These relationships are dedicated to collaborating with the local fire department(s) on our detailed, comprehensive safety standards, processes, and plans of action, including a development plan to improve the understanding of Brightmark’s technology and how to partner with incident response to reduce risk proactively.

Brightmark has also invested in safety equipment for the local fire department to use. We plan to invest
in equipment for the local fire department(s) in Thomaston.

Construction and development processes always produce some noise; however, once complete, the circularity center should have limited noise. The center’s location was strategically chosen in an industrial park to limit disturbances to the community.

Because our Thomaston Circularity Center is not a landfill or a traditional recycling facility, our process and facility will be designed to limit any odor(s) to the general vicinity of the center and should not extend beyond the premises. Our Plastics Renewal® technology converts plastic waste in an enclosed environment. Furthermore, the processing and recycling operations will occur in the enclosed 300,000-square-foot building. Plastic waste will arrive at the center via closed trailers and will be unloaded in closed receiving docks. No plastic waste will be stored outside the enclosed building.

While all types of materials typically have some form of odor(s), because our Thomaston Circularity Center is not a landfill or a materials recovery facility, our process and facility will be designed to limit any odor(s) to the general vicinity of the center. The processing and recycling operations will also occur in the enclosed 300,000-square-foot building, which will limit odors.

We are working with Thomaston government officials to invest directly in the project’s infrastructure to improve road access and limit disruption to daily life. We are also implementing an additional rail spur to alleviate stress on local road systems.

The circularity center will be designed not to discharge into the municipal water supply, drinking water, groundwater, or local waterways. Because we are committed to protecting the local environment, especially the Flint River, we are investing millions in a Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) technology process wastewater system where all process wastewater will be treated and managed on-site.

A detailed third-party life cycle analysis (LCA) conducted by Environmental Clarity Inc. and peer-reviewed by a faculty of Georgia Institute of Technology examined the net benefit of our Plastics Renewal® technology and concluded lower greenhouse gas emissions, lower energy use, and reduced water use compared to virgin plastic production methods. 

• Brightmark’s process produces 39% to 139%¹ less greenhouse gas emissions than equivalent products made from virgin materials.
• 46% water use savings compared to virgin plastics created from fossil fuels.²
• 82% energy use savings compared to virgin plastics created from fossil fuels.²

Our Ashley Circularity Center is ISCC (International Sustainability and Carbon Certification) PLUS certified—verifying that biomass is not produced on land with high biodiversity and carbon stock. Good agricultural practices protecting soil, water, and air are followed. Human rights, labor, and land rights are respected. Sustainable material is traceable throughout international supply chains, and greenhouse gas reduction targets are met.

Our Thomaston Circularity Center will be seeking ISCC (International Sustainability and Carbon Certification) PLUS certification as well.

Our Ashley Circularity Center Safety Program is led by Chris Hillary, CSP, and his team, who are accomplished safety and quality professionals. Similarly, Joe Atkinson leads this effort for the RNG centers.

The same safety programs will be applied to our Thomaston Ciruclarity Center.

At Brightmark, our team members receive robust industry-specific safety training—including training on establishing preventative measures to reduce the risk of problems arising and preparing our employees to address potential problems before they escalate. We’re continuously looking for areas of opportunity to further bolster and invest in the training of our employees.

We have established a detailed Emergency Action Plan (EAP) that meets best industry practices and goes beyond regulatory requirements at our circularity center in Ashley, Indiana. We require all employees at the Ashley Circularity Center to undergo regular EAP training, including detailed safety checklists on critical areas such as operating procedures, emergency response, and lifesaving protocols.

We plan to implement these plans at our Thomaston Circularity Center.

Brightmark adheres to all local, state, and federal health and safety laws and, in many instances, exceeds these standards. For example, Brightmark has a dedicated 400,000-gallon water tank on-site to ensure we have the supply needed for fire-fighting activities in the case of a fire.

While not required to meet the OSHA PSM facility standards, we voluntarily incorporate many of those heightened standards into our processes because it ensures a safer working environment.

Brightmark will adhere to all laws and regulations and deploy a similar safety framework at the Thomaston Circularity Center.

We have incorporated a 5-S workplace organization system, which is the foundation of any safety program—this includes routine area audits to maintain adherence to the procedures and policies.

We plan to implement these systems at our Thomaston Circularity Center.

We conduct annual Industrial Hygiene Surveys and continue to monitor them on a more frequent, quarterly basis.

The most recent survey tested for air quality, including total particulates, respirable dust, silica, and metal. All results were well under the best practice threshold limit values set by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH), an independent standards-setting body, and significantly under OSHA-developed threshold limit values. We recently installed a new internal baghouse, an industrial air filter system, to draw off point source potential dust generation areas.

We plan to conduct these surveys at our Thomaston Circularity Center.

Brightmark takes fire safety extremely seriously and is continually investing in enhanced protocols. We have invested significantly in identifying potential risks and creating preventative solutions. This includes installing the following at our circularity center in Ashley, Indiana:

• As a first line of defense, the Ashley Circularity Center has foam fire protection monitors on hydrants that allow employees to apply fire suppression foam to all critical areas of the outside plastic conversion system.

• An internal high-density sprinkler system that provides enhanced coverage to the areas where plastic waste is stored before it is processed for recycling.

• Fire-protective insulative coatings are applied to protect areas that would weaken from the heat of a fire.

Brightmark will adhere to robust fire safety protocols and deploy a similar fire safety framework with enhanced safety protocols at our Thomaston Circularity Center.