On Friday afternoon, a massive industrial fire erupted at the East Jordan Plastics Factory in South Haven, Michigan. The blaze started at 3:47 pm and firefighters remained on the scene until the site was finally cleared around 6:00 am Saturday. A giant column of smoke could be seen for more than 40 miles, and at least 16 different fire departments used about 2 million gallons of water to contain the fire.
Founded in 1947, East Jordan Plastics makes sustainable commercial horticultural growing containers widely used by large-scale, controlled-environment cultivation operations, including commercial greenhouses and cannabis cultivation. The business has been in the same family for more than three generations.
In a statement, the company said, "We experienced a substantial fire at our East Jordan Plastics facility in South Haven, Michigan. Our team quickly evacuated the facility, and no injuries have been reported." It is working with local authorities and emergency responders to determine a cause.
The plastics company makes recyclable plant trays, growing pots and plant containers. It also runs a large-scale industrial recycling unit that processes some 20 million pounds of used horticultural plastics annually, including polystyrene, polypropylene and high-density polyethylene.
East Jordan Plastics operates recycling facilities at a 150,000-square-foot facility in South Haven as well as a 260,000-square-foot plant in Lyons, Georgia. Those materials supply container manufacturing operations in East Jordan, Beaverton, South Haven and Lyons.
On its website, the company claimed it is one of the largest horticultural thermoformers in North America and boasts that its recycling efforts save the equivalent of 12,767 mid-sized cars' worth of landfill space every year. It remains unknown how significant the fire’s impact will be on the company’s operations going forward.
Initially, the fire caused elevated levels of particulate matter (PM2.5) in the surrounding neighborhood—a pollutant commonly associated with fires. The EPA also recorded elevated levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), but by Saturday, the agency could no longer detect high levels of either.
During the fight, the fire department covered maintenance holes surrounding the site and contained as much runoff water as possible. The EPA collected samples that will help determine how to manage the remaining water. East Jordan Plastics will pump and store the water in large tanks until the state decides next steps. The company also put up a floating boom in a nearby creek to contain debris, primarily plastic pellets.
South Haven Area Emergency Services Chief Brandon Hinz said it was a community effort to help put out the blaze and many local businesses, including Spencer Manufacturing, which actually makes custom fire trucks and ambulances, donated supplies, food and other materials to aid first responders.
