Nova Chemicals recycling plant considered near Sarnia not going ahead

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A plastics recycling facility Nova Chemicals was considering building in the Sarnia area will not be moving ahead, the company says.

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Nova Chemicals announced in June 2023 it was joining Plastics Energy, a company based in Europe, to study the feasibility of developing a pyrolysis advanced recycling facility in the Sarnia area which, if it was built, would be the largest of its kind in Canada.

“Upon completion of the feasibility study in 2024, Nova Chemicals and Plastics Energy ultimately decided not to pursue the project at this time,” Nova said in a statement.

Plastics Energy operates recycling facilities in Europe and the proposal considered for the Sarnia area would have been in addition to Nova’s recent $2-billion expansion in St. Clair Township that increased the capacity of its Corunna site and created a new polyethylene facility next to it on Rokeby Line.

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“Obviously it’s disappointing that a major employer in the area isn’t moving forward with what would have been a significant capital investment and job creation project for the Sarnia-Lambton area,” said Matthew Slotwinski, CEO of the Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership, a Lambton County-funded agency that works to bring jobs and commercial investment to the area.

“We look forward to continue working with Nova Chemicals on the pursuit of future investment projects, including those that are associated with the further diversification of their present infrastructure and facilities in the area,” Slotwinski said.

Nova Chemicals calls itself the largest private-sector employer in the Sarnia area with more than 1,000 employees at four production sites in St. Clair Township.

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The company produces ethylene and co-products at its Corunna site, and polyethylene plastic at its nearby Rokeby, St. Clair River and Moore sites.

“We are actively investing in mechanical recycling while also advocating for advanced recycling as essential to processing hard-to-recycle plastics,” the company said. “Robust supply and demand policies are critical to ensuring the economic and environmental viability of both recycling streams.”

Nova is building a mechanical recycling facility in Connorsville, Ind., which the company said is expected to create 125 jobs and be fully operational in 2026.

Imperial Oil also has said its Sarnia site is being considered for one of several plastic recycling facilities its parent company, ExxonMobil, plans to open around the world.

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An Imperial Oil official in 2023 said, while mechanical recycling is good for plastics of one type, advanced recycling uses plastic waste and high temperatures in a process to create new feedstocks for products such as new plastic.

Both mechanical and chemical plastic recycling are areas “where there continues to be significant opportunity for the Sarnia-Lambton area,” Slotwinski said.

The partnership is working “with several companies that are interested in potential investment opportunities in this space,” in addition to feasibility studies by Nova Chemicals and Imperial Oil, he said.

Sarnia and neighbouring St. Clair Township are home to several refineries and chemical manufacturing sites.

“We believe that if there is going to be significant capital investment” and “new facilities linked to advanced recycling of plastics, that Sarnia-Lambton has as good of an opportunity as anywhere across the nation to see that investment take place locally,” Slotwinski said.

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