Activists worry steelmaker's switch to using plastic pellets would pollute community

Activists in northwest Indiana worry U.S. Steel in Gary could use plastic pellets in its steelmaking process — further polluting an already overburdened community. The U.S. Department of Energy intends to give the company making the pellets a more than $180 million loan.

International Recycling Group Erie’s recycling facility in Pennsylvania would make plastic pellets to replace coke in steel blast furnaces — which generate a lot of greenhouse gas emissions.

"Assuming a 14 percent replacement rate of coking coal used in blast furnaces to produce steel, IRG Erie’s technology will result in a 24 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from this process — helping to move the steel sector toward net-zero emissions while helping to position American manufacturers and workers to lead the global clean energy economy," a DOE spokesperson said in a statement.

Neither the agency, the company nor U.S. Steel would confirm which northwest Indiana steelmaker would use the pellets.

Dorreen Carey is the president of GARD — Gary Advocates for Responsible Development. Her group and Just Transition Northwest Indiana signed on to a letter with several other groups urging the DOE to withdraw its conditional commitment for a loan.

Carey worries using the plastic would release hazardous chemicals into the air and storing it would be a fire hazard. Last year, warehouses owned by a plastics recycler in Richmond caught fire — displacing residents and triggering an expensive cleanup.

“Plastics is a huge problem for our country, but burning them in an environmental justice community that's already impacted by 100 years of pollution is not going to be the solution," she said.

READ MORE: 'If not now, then when?' Gary residents seek brighter, cleaner future through Biden's EPA
 

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Susan Thomas is with Just Transition Northwest Indiana — which says the federal government should be working to reduce plastic waste instead of backing a “false climate solution.”

“Microplastics are in our brains, our blood, our breast milk at this point — it's everywhere. So there's concern about the burning as well as just the continuation of plastics," she said.

Thomas said steelmakers like U.S. Steel should also explore more climate-friendly options — like direct reduced iron and powering plants with renewable energy.

The DOE said IRG Erie would have to meet certain conditions to get the loan — including an environmental review and a community benefits plan.

In a statement, IRG Erie CEO Mitch Hecht said the company's recycling process has been used in Japan and Europe for more than 30 years.

"The process has been monitored extensively by their regulatory agencies and scientists here in the U.S., including Penn State. This method is incredibly safe — valorizing plastic without releasing any carcinogenic emissions. Quite simply it is the cleanest way to keep waste plastic out of landfills and reduce GHG emissions at steel plants at the same time," he said.

A quarter of all the greenhouse gas emissions that come from Indiana industrial facilities are from steel and aluminum plants.

U.S. Steel Gary Works and both Cleveland Cliffs locations also top the list for most toxic releases from Indiana industrial facilities — which includes the state's coal plants.

Rebecca is our energy and environment reporter. Contact her at rthiele@iu.edu or follow her on Twitter at @beckythiele.