Zach Lauer News Today

After joining forces just over a year ago, the producer of flexible consumer packaging has already contributed more than one million pounds of recycled plastic film packaging to Trex for use in the making of the company’s composite decking.

Trex Co., preparing for its entry in the Arkansas market, has reached an agreement with a longtime Van Buren recycling company to supply materials for the decking manufacturing operation when it begins production in January 2024.

Trex is building its third manufacturing plant in Port of Little Rock, Ark., as part of a $400 million investment that will include decking and railing production, plastic film recycling and processing.

Prices of recycled plastic materials such as HDPE natural, a translucent material that’s easier to re-use because it isn’t dyed, have been trading near or above the price of aluminum. According to Resource Recycling, natural HDPE is selling for 89.31 cents per pound compared with 81.88 cents last in April. Meanwhile, iScrap says recycled aluminum is trading for less than 50 cents per pound, significant because it’s not often that metal is cheaper. Some of this plastic is snapped up by com...