Old BPR LLC, formerly Brightmark Plastics Renewal LLC, operated an advanced plastics recycling Circularity Center in Ashley, Indiana using proprietary pyrolysis technology to convert plastic waste into PyBright pyrolysis oil, with a nameplate capacity of 100,000 tons per year but operating at only approximately 5% capacity. The San Francisco-headquartered company employed approximately 113 people at filing. BPR filed for Chapter 11 protection on March 16, 2025 in Delaware (Case No. 25-10472) before Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein after missing a $12.9 million principal and interest payment on its $172.5 million Series 2019 Indiana Finance Authority green bonds on March 1, 2025. The facility — which cost $260 million to build — never operated as intended, requiring substantial re-engineering after the hydrotreater and fractionator systems failed, while consuming $3.5-4.0 million monthly in operational costs. Parent company Brightmark LLC had contributed over $211 million in equity (including $44.6 million in 2024) before ceasing support in early February 2025. The Debtors obtained a $13 million DIP facility from Brightmark Plastics Ashley Holdco LLC (a parent affiliate) at 12% interest. After a competitive 26-round auction attracting four qualified bidders, Brightmark LLC (parent) acquired substantially all assets for $14.3 million cash, preserving going-concern operations and assuming environmental liabilities, over UMB Bank's $17.3 million credit bid that would have resulted in liquidation. The case remains in post-sale wind-down with court-ordered mediation between the Debtors and UMB Bank over disputed sale proceeds.
