Eastman to use $375 million grant from DOE to build second molecular recycling facility in Texas
Eastman has announced plans to build a second U.S. molecular recycling facility at its location in Longview, Texas. The company's grant application to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has been selected to begin award negotiations. The $375 million fund, made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, will be used to support operations that will prepare mixed plastic waste for processing, Eastman’s next-generation molecular recycling unit to depolymerize waste, and a polymer facility to create virgin-quality materials for packaging and textiles. According to Eastman, the new plant will have the ability to recycle 110,000 metric tonnes of plastic waste. The project is expected to generate 200 new jobs for the surrounding area.
In a recent quote, Mark Costa, Eastman Board Chair and CEO, said, “We are excited to build our second U.S. world-scale molecular recycling facility at our existing site in Texas. The plant will remove significant waste from the region, enable true circularity and set a new benchmark for decarbonization. We have decades of history successfully operating in Longview, and this will be a great investment for the local community.”
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About the Author
Alexis GajewskiAlexis Gajewski
Senior Content Strategist
Alexis Gajewski is a manufacturing writer and editor with nearly 20 years of experience covering the people, practices, and technologies that keep industrial facilities running. For more than a decade, she served as Senior Content Strategist for Plant Services, creating content for plant managers, engineers, and maintenance professionals on a variety of industrial topics.
During her tenure, Alexis worked to develop the brand’s digital strategy and helped launch and produce Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast. She also created The Lighter Side of Manufacturing, a weekly blog that explored the inventive and sometimes humorous side of the industry.
Alexis co-founded Influential Women in Manufacturing, a recognition program that honored 49 women in its first two years, earned an industry award for Best Product Launch, and received a proclamation from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and a commendation from U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth.
She also led newsroom operations and development at a large media company where she set editorial standards, developed training curriculum, and helped support AI adoption for more than 150 editors across 80+ brands spanning manufacturing, industrial processing, automation, and more.
Additionally, Alexis works as a freelance writer and editor, and her areas of interest include continuous improvement, the skilled workforce, and the role of emerging technology on the plant floor.
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