FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 14, 2026
Contact: Cat Adams, cat.adams@benohio.org
Freepoint Eco-Systems Pyrolysis Facility MUST Comply With Clean Air Act Incinerator Regulations – According to Ohio EPA
Hebron, Licking County, Ohio – On April 28, the Ohio EPA formally notified Freepoint Eco-Systems that their Hebron plastic pyrolysis facility no longer qualifies as a recycling unit and will now be regulated as a waste incinerator. For more than a year, Freepoint burned plastic waste under the wrong permit, shielded from more stringent Clean Air Act regulations for incinerators—exposing surrounding communities to toxic air pollution in the process.
Freepoint previously accumulated four notices of violation following reports to the Ohio EPA from community members and environmental groups about black smoke regularly pouring out of its stacks. In January of 2026, the Ohio EPA initiated an enforcement case against Freepoint for continued noncompliance with their air permit.
“I’m glad that it seems that the EPA is keeping an eye on them. Freepoint needs to cut their losses and go away,” said Shawn Jones, a local father who has been an active community watchdog since seeing flames erupt from the facility’s vapor combustors in May of 2025.
The facility’s known emissions include the hazardous air pollutants styrene and hydrogen chloride, which are linked to cancer and lung disease, respectively.
In a Notice of Violation published on May 8, 2026, the Ohio EPA revoked Freepoint’s status as a recycling facility because the plant failed to convert enough plastics to pyrolysis oil for three consecutive quarters in 2025 and 2026. The pyrolysis facility’s designation as a recycling unit had previously exempted them from more rigorous federal regulation under the Clean Air Act.
As part of this recent notice of violation, the Ohio EPA ordered Freepoint to submit a plan to comply with the Clean Air Act standards for waste incinerators by May 28. However, Section 129 of the Clean Air Act prohibits the operation of waste incinerators, like Freepoint, that are out of compliance with its standards.
“The Ohio EPA should require Freepoint to immediately cease operations and begin a new permit application process for a federally enforceable Title V permit. This process must include meaningful opportunities for public comment, so that frontline health and safety concerns are truly taken into account,” said Cat Adams, Petrochemicals Organizer for Buckeye Environmental Network. “This facility was advertised as a recycling unit to the community, so they never got the chance to comment on the type of facility that is actually operating in their backyards: an incinerator.”
“Enough is enough. Freepoint Hebron, a so-called “advanced recycling” facility, has made clear what Moms Clean Air Force has been saying for over a year: This is not advanced, and it’s not recycling. This is plastic incineration—full stop—and their toxic emissions are threatening the health of nearby children and families,” said Amanda Rowoldt, Ohio Field Organizer with Moms Clean Air Force. “We urge the Ohio EPA to immediately halt operations at Freepoint and initiate a new permit process that will protect nearby Hebron and Union Township families.”
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