Background: On Tuesday, August 12th, 2025, community members and advocates announced and celebrated the withdrawal by Alterra Energy of its proposal for a plastics burning facility in Sugarloaf, Pennsylvania. Alterra Energy owns Ohio’s oldest plastics burning facility where asthma and heart disease rates are already some of the highest in the nation. Significant community opposition arose over concerns of air emissions, hazardous waste, traffic impacts, and potential harms to public health. The announcement was made following a public records request from the Sugarload Township Board of Supervisors.
Statement by Earthworks Senior Manager of Energy Infrastructure Tyler Offerman:
“After strong community opposition, Alterra Energy has canceled proposed plans to build a plastics burning plant in Sugarloaf, Pennsylvania. According to Alterra, the now scrapped Sugarloaf plant would have polluted nearby residents with 5.6 tons of hazardous air pollutants, 11.1 tons of particulate matter and 44.4 tons of volatile organic compounds every year.
“The fight isn’t over, as Alterra is still said to be exploring other options to build this type of facility somewhere else in northeastern Pennsylvania. But today, this is a huge win for the community of Sugarloaf and further evidence that this experimental and polluting incineration technology has no place in our communities.”
