An unidentified supplier is providing the recycling equipment and technology and, currently, is training PWP employees.

“Recycling PET bottles will allow PWP to increase its product range containing post-consumer resin, save energy, reduce carbon dioxide emissions and keep plastic materials out of landfills,” Ira Maroofian, president and chief operating officer, said in a statement.

Coca-Cola Recycling LLC of Atlanta will be the primary supplier of recycled PET flake that PWP will use as Food and Drug Administration-compliant resin for food packaging. The limited liability company is a subsidiary of publicly traded Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc., the largest bottler of Coca-Cola products.

Phase one of the PWP project is projected to have an annual capacity to recycle 40 million pounds of flake and, in the process, cut annual emission of 30,000 tons of carbon dioxide and reduce annual energy requirements by 398 million kilowatt hours.

PWP says manufacturing of post-consumer-resin PET uses about two-thirds less energy than production of virgin PET.

Establishing the recycling facility is part of a PWP company-wide initiative called Earth’s Pack through which PWP has introduced new packaging composed of biodegradable and compostable materials from agricultural scrap.

Vernon, Calif.-based PWP thermoforms PET and polypropylene for food packaging at plants in Vernon, Mineral Wells and Abilene, Texas.

For energy conservation, builders of the Davisville facility and an addition at the Abilene site incorporated designs for maximum natural lighting, high-energy efficient lighting and on-off motion-occupancy detectors.