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.

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.

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.

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.

Because of the nature of our work at our Ashley center, we have established a detailed Emergency Action Plan (EAP) that goes beyond regulatory requirements and industry best practices. We require regular EAP training, including detailed safety checklists on critical areas such as operating procedures, emergency response, and lifesaving protocols.

We are continually improving our processes and training for our employees. We significantly enhanced our safe work permit program, which now incorporates a hot work permit process on which every team member receives training. We consistently conduct independent health and safety reviews to determine how to improve our processes and procedures.  

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. As an organization in a nascent industry, we track and classify all operations. We prepare detailed “After Action Reviews” to identify gaps and implement corrective countermeasures.

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.

We will adhere to laws and regulations at our 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.

We take fire safety extremely seriously and are continually investing in enhanced protocols.

In 2022, we conducted a comprehensive safety analysis to identify procedural and capital improvements we could make to the facility to mitigate risk. Over the last 12 months, we have invested more than $1M to identify potential risks and invest in solutions. We recently invested in and are now installing advanced foam fire protection monitors, which allow firefighters to apply fire protective foam to all critical areas of the outside plastic conversion system.

An internal high-density sprinkler system was installed to provide enhanced coverage to areas under stairs and elevated equipment. Fire-protective insulative coatings protect areas that would weaken from the heat of a fire and cause the gear to collapse. A vapor barrier was installed to prevent a hydrocarbon vapor cloud from contacting key ignition sources near the vicinity, along with a protective wall to prevent a potential jet fire from striking a building staffed by team members.

We will adhere to robust fire safety protocols at our Thomaston Circularity Center.