At Solutions Plastic Lumber, recycling plastic “trash” into lumber isn’t just a job or a process—it’s a purpose. These stories showcase the impact of innovation and recycling waste into something meaningful. From community partnerships who are benefiting from the lumber, to new local job opportunities, to the hopeful plans for increasing landfill diversion, this is what drives us every day.

  • A group of children and adults building a wooden structure outdoors on the grass, using a cordless drill.

    Greener Together Project

    Whispering Roots received $50,000 from the OPPD Greener Together program to work with students from grade school through high school on sustainability, STEM and agricultural fields of study. Whispering Roots is building raised garden beds using lumber made by First Star Recycling and Solutions Plastic from hard-to-recycle plastic waste diverted from the landfill. The nonprofit works with students who live in socially and economically underserved communities. You can read more about the project here.

  • Large pile of crumpled plastic and paper waste in an industrial recycling facility with conveyor belts and machinery.

    PRF-ect Solution

    Firstar Fiber was featured in a terrific article by Recycling Today about how our company is creating a circular business model by processing hard-to-recycle plastics from the Hefty® ReNew® orange bags and turning them into feedstock for Solutions Plastic Lumber in-house. Click here to read the full story.

  • Industrial factory with machinery, pallets of tiles, and workers.

    Firstar Fiber Inc: Products with 85% Post-Consumer Resin

    This case study by the U.S. Plastics Pact takes a look at how Firstar Fiber is developing a comprehensive approach to make it relatively convenient for both residents and for the MRF to recover far more plastics than ever before, and how it is being achieved in a sustainable market-driven manner. Click the link to read the full story.

  • Close-up of stacked dark gray wooden pallets or beams, showing rough texture and some red and black markings.

    Orange Bags of Hard to Recycle Plastics to Make Lumber

    KMTV News coverage: Plastics in the orange Hefty EnergyBags from Omaha-area residents are now being used to make plastic lumber at Firstar Fiber. They were being used to make fuel for concrete production in Kansas City. Click here for the full news article on YouTube.

  • Inside a recycling facility showing conveyor belts sorting plastic waste, with machinery and workers in the background, as plastic is transformed into lumber.

    Transforming Plastic in to Lumber in Omaha

    Channel 6News First Aleart - Plastics that would have gone to the landfill (like chip bags, single-use plastic bags, straws, plastic utensils) are now being made into plastic lumber. The orange bag contents goes onto a conveyor belt for sorting, then into a grinder and a cleaning process ready to be transformed into plastic lumber. Click here to see the YouTube Video.

  • 2023 Waste Diversion Project of the Year Award Winner

    At the 2023 Annual Fall Conference, Nebraska Recycling Council awarded Solutions Plastic the 2023 Waste Diversion Project of the Year Award! Our plastic lumber is made in Nebraska from “hard-to-recycle” plastic. Most of the materials come from the Hefty Orange Renew program. Click here to view the YouTube video.

  • From the Pacific Ocean to Nebraska

    One Omaha company recycles the world's derelict fishing gear. Solutions Plastic Lumber is just a few in the U.S. that create plastic lumber out of hard to recycle plastics. And word made its way across the Pacific Ocean and nearly 4,000 miles away to the Hawaii Pacific University Center for Marine Debris Research in Honolulu. Click here for the story!

  • Where It All Began - Hefty Energy Bag

    This interview and video produced by the KMTV 3 News Now Metro Blend captures the early days of the Hefty® EnergyBag® program. The Bourke family was interviewed about their experiences and encouraging recyclers to start using the orange bags in your house or business to recover hard-to-recycle plastics. Click here to watch the FaceBook video.