Jan. 27—A company that recycles scrap tires will soon make Sanford home to its newest manufacturing facility, bringing at least 30 new jobs.
Liberty Tire Recycling will open a new manufacturing facility in the Central Carolina Enterprise Park. The new facility will produce rubberized mulch, a resilient and sustainable alternative to traditional mulch, made from recycled scrap tires.
"Liberty is excited to make positive economic and environmental impacts in the region," CEO Thomas Womble said in a news release. "A new Liberty facility means fewer scrap tires in the waste stream and more jobs for hardworking North Carolinians."
By recycling more than 190 million tires annually, Liberty Tire reclaims approximately 3 billion pounds of rubber each year. Recycled rubber produced by Liberty Tire is used to create innovative, eco-friendly solutions including landscaping and playground products that are sold at more than 15,000 retail locations across North America.
Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the company maintains a network of processing plants and comprehensive door-to-door collection services across North America. Liberty Tire Recycling also has collection and production facilities in Cameron and Concord.
Construction of the Sanford plant is nearly complete, and on Wednesday afternoon crews were working around the facility. Samet Corp. is the general contractor of the facility.
As part of its commitment to sustainability, Liberty recently appointed Amy Brackin to serve as Vice President of Sustainability to develop and execute a comprehensive environmental, social and governance strategy.
"Our new rubber mulch facility in Sanford is in direct response to consumer acceptance of rubber mulch as a sustainable alternative to wood mulch," Brackin said. "Our North American retail partners recognize and appreciate our sustainability story and how it positively impacts their value chain."
The plant will be located at 6015 Enterprise Park Drive and can be contacted via phone at (888) 372-0883.