NOVA Chemicals, Inc. is now operating three of four of its polyethylene (PE) film recycling lines at a facility in Connersville, Indiana.
The plant known as SYNDIGO1 spans 450,000 square feet and will recycle 145,000 bales of end-of-life plastic film to produce over 100 million pounds of SYNDIGO™ recycled linear, low-density polyethylene (rLLDPE) suitable for food- and non-food grade packaging applications. Full production is expected by early 2026, according to a news release.
In July 2023, NOVA said it would build the facility and work with Novolex to operate it.
Standing Out
In 2024, the facility’s mechanical recycling process received a first-of-its-kind letter of non-objection (LNO) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration confirming its ability to produce post-consumer rLLDPE that is suitable for food-contact applications.
In April 2025, the facility achieved the Recycled Material Standard certification from Green Blue, which verifies that the SYNDIGO™ rLLDPE produced at the facility is 100% post-consumer recycled (PCR) content.
“Our SYNDIGO1 facility is a tangible example of what motivation, collaboration, and market demand can do together,” said NOVA Chemicals CEO Roger Kearns in a statement.
“At NOVA, we have decades of experience in developing products that make our lives better. As of today, we’re not only a petrochemicals producer but also a recycler of polyethylene. We’re diverting plastic waste from landfills and turning it into new, quality products that help keep our food fresh or safely transport goods and materials to store shelves.”
Strong Demand
Converters, retailers, and brand owners continue to show strong demand for recycled PE, Kearns added.
NOVA Chemicals is working with several leading manufacturers and distributors to incorporate recycled PE into flexible packaging, including Charter Next Generation, M. Holland, Osterman & Company, Petoskey Plastics, PolyExpert, Pregis, Sigma Plastics Group, and Winpak LTD.
The demand for post-consumer recycled plastic will triple by 2030 to about 90 million tons, according to McKinsey.
And a recent NOVA Chemicals survey revealed that 75% of consumers agreed that companies should increase the use of packaging made from recycled materials.
SYNDIGO1 in Connersville works with major retailers and distribution centers across the U.S. to collect back-of-store PE film, which provides consistent and clean feedstock for recycled PE.
The facility will collect on average 400 bales of plastic film each day, or 14,000 bales each month. For context, the film collected and diverted from landfills each year is equivalent to filling four professional football fields to the top of the goalposts.
Plastic film waste will be processed into pellets and sold as NOVA Chemicals’ SYNDIGO™ rLLDPE, which is suitable for a wide variety of packaging applications—from trash can liners to food packaging.