PureCycle Celebrates 1 Year as Public Company on Global Recycling Day

Today, PureCycle Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: PCT)–a U.S.-based company revolutionizing plastic recycling–celebrated one year of becoming a publicly traded company...

PureCycle Celebrates 1 Year as Public Company on Global Recycling Day
Author
Date
Mar 18, 2022
Category
Updates

Today, PureCycle Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: PCT)–a U.S.-based company revolutionizing plastic recycling–celebrated one year of becoming a publicly traded company on Global Recycling Day and just days before the company prepares to break ground on its second U.S. purification facility in Augusta, Georgia.  In the past year, PureCycle has undertaken efforts to bolster the company’s ability to scale its plastic purification technology including the implementation of a strategy to regionalize recycling preprocessing facilities and target untapped feedstock waste streams that would otherwise be landfilled or incinerated. PureCycle expects its first commercial facility in Ironton, Ohio to be completed by the end of 2022, and has announced its intention to open facilities in South Korea and Japan. Mike Otworth, chairman and chief executive officer, PureCycle, said, “It’s fitting that we celebrate our first anniversary as a public company on Global Recycling Day. As we pursue our mission of revolutionizing plastic waste into a renewable resource, we are reminded time and time again of the critical moment we are facing as the plastic pollution crisis plays out on the world stage. With a U.N. resolution passed last month to help put an end to the ever-expanding plastic waste problem polluting our planet, and global brands commitment to increase their use of recycled plastic, there is no doubt that 2022 is a critical year for sustainability. “We know that single-use plastic production made from the extraction of oil is a main driver of our plastic waste crisis. As consumer demand for sustainable products continues to surge, companies are increasingly using recycled materials in their products to help keep waste out of our oceans and landfills. PureCycle is well positioned to not only connect consumers with high-quality recycled material, but to also help companies achieve their sustainability goals.” Over the past year, PureCycle has launched sustainability programs for sports teams, venues, and retailers through its PureZero™ program; identified untapped plastic waste that is currently being buried in landfills or incinerated for a new life as PureCycled material; developed and implemented digital operation design strategies to enhance employee safety and support efficiencies in its facilities; harnessed technology to scale faster; and integrated strategies to mitigate supply chain and market disruptions.  Milestones since going public and listing on the Nasdaq on March 18, 2021:

  • Announced a $250 million private equity capital raise
  • Launched the PureZero™ Program with the Cleveland Browns to help teams, venues, and retail companies recycle smarter and implement a true sustainability program
  • Identified 438 million pounds of plastic waste committed to be transformed into PureCycle’s ultra-pure recycled (UPR) resin  
  • Launched Pure Planet Day, an annual community day of service to help clean up the communities in which the company operates
  • Implemented a Born Digital concept to leapfrog to the latest generation of automation technology, employing virtual reality, augmented reality, and artificial intelligence so projects can be completed faster and operate with world-class performance
  • Announced partnership with Gulfspan Industries to centralize construction of its facilities  
  • Announced a partnership with SK geo centric to open the first PureCycle facility in Ulsan, South Korea
  • Began the build out of PureCycle’s first regional recycling preprocessing facility in Central Florida  
  • Announced the first PureCycled plastic product brought to market by EC30
  • Teamed up with EXPLR Media to educate and inspire kids to tackle the plastic waste crisis

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Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements about the financial condition, results of operations, earnings outlook and prospects of PCT. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as “plan,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “outlook,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “project,” “continue,” “could,” “may,” “might,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “should,” “would” and other similar words and expressions, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. The forward-looking statements are based on the current expectations of the management of PCT and are inherently subject to uncertainties and changes in circumstances and their potential effects and speak only as of the date of such statement. There can be no assurance that future developments will be those that have been anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those factors described in the section of PCT’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q entitled “Risk Factors,” those discussed and identified in public filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) by PCT and the following:

  • PCT's ability to meet, and to continue to meet, applicable regulatory requirements for the use of PCT’s UPR resin (as defined below) in food grade applications (both in the United States and abroad);
  • PCT's ability to comply on an ongoing basis with the numerous regulatory requirements applicable to the UPR resin and PCT’s facilities (both in the United States and abroad);
  • Expectations and changes regarding PCT’s strategies and future financial performance, including its future business plans, expansion plans or objectives, prospective performance and opportunities and competitors, revenues, products and services, pricing, operating expenses, market trends, liquidity, cash flows and uses of cash, capital expenditures, and PCT’s ability to invest in growth initiatives;
  • PCT’s ability to scale and build its first commercial-scale recycling facility in Lawrence County, Ohio (the “Ironton Facility”) in a timely and cost-effective manner;
  • PCT's ability to complete the necessary financing with respect to, and complete the construction of, its first U.S. cluster facility, located in Augusta, Georgia (the "Augusta Facility"), in a timely and cost-effective manner;
  • PCT’s ability to sort and process polypropylene plastic waste at its plastic waste prep (“Feed PreP”) facilities;
  • PCT’s ability to maintain exclusivity under the Procter & Gamble Company (“P&G”) license (as described below);
  • the implementation, market acceptance and success of PCT’s business model and growth strategy;
  • the success or profitability of PCT’s offtake arrangements;
  • the ability to source feedstock with a high polypropylene content;
  • PCT’s future capital requirements and sources and uses of cash;
  • PCT’s ability to obtain funding for its operations and future growth;
  • developments and projections relating to PCT’s competitors and industry;
  • the outcome of any legal or regulatory proceedings to which PCT is, or may become, a party including the recently filed securities class action case and the ongoing SEC investigation;  
  • the ability to recognize the anticipated benefits of the previously-announced business combination (the “Business Combination”) consummated on March 17, 2021;
  • unexpected costs related to the Business Combination;
  • geopolitical risk and changes in applicable laws or regulations;
  • the possibility that PCT may be adversely affected by other economic, business, and/or competitive factors;
  • labor shortages and turnover or increases in employees and employee-related costs;
  • the potential impact of climate change on the company, including physical and transition risks, higher regulatory and compliance costs, reputational risks, and availability of capital on attractive terms;
  • operational risk; and
  • the risk that the COVID-19 pandemic (“COVID-19”), including any new and emerging variants and the efficacy and distribution of vaccines, and local, state, federal and international responses to addressing the pandemic may have an adverse effect on PCT’s business operations, as well as PCT’s financial condition and results of operations.

Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize or should any of the assumptions made by the management of PCT prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements or other matters attributable to PCT or any person acting on their behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this press release. Except to the extent required by applicable law or regulation, PCT undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.