The Athens County Port Authority is currently in negotiations to lease a building in The Plains to CCC Plastics, a Canadian manufacturer, to develop a plastic production facility.
The Athens County Port Authority was established by the Athens County Commissioners in 1995 and partners with the Athens County Economic Development Council by leading site development for economic expansion.
The Athens County Port Authority had the building constructed, located at 5885 Industrial Drive, in 2024. The 60,000 square feet warehouse is located at the Bill Theisen Industrial Park.
CCC Plastics produces “Custom Colour, additives, and compound concentrates, as well as a wide range of polyolefin and engineered resins,” according to their website.
The Plains facility would be storing raw materials, grinding resin, blending resin with pigments or additives and extruding the resin into pallets, according to the Athens County Port Authority.
In December 2025, Gov. Mike DeWine, Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel and Ohio Department of Development Director Lydia Mihalik approved 17 projects aimed at creating more job opportunities, including the implementation of a CCC Plastic facility in Logan County, according to an ODD press release.
According to a fact sheet on the ACEDC website, CCC Plastics plans to establish the facility in Athens due to growth in Ohio and proximity to new markets.
The company agreed to offer 25 new full-time jobs at the warehouse, ranging from mixing products, shipping and receiving and managing engineering. Salaries would range between $42,000 for mixers, shipping/receiving and $100,000 or more for engineering managers, depending on position.
All 25 jobs will have a retirement plan, health insurance and other benefits, according to the fact sheet.
Local discourse has spread across Athens County regarding the plastic center, invoking social media disputes, organization comments and public forums. Citizens have raised questions about the facility’s environmental impact, job offerings and tax revenue.
Michelle Savage, a project manager for a construction company and a 10-year Athens local, is in complete support of the CCC Plastic implementation because of the job opportunities and tax revenue it would bring.
“These plastic centers do create a lot of jobs, a lot of living wage jobs,” Savage said. “They also offer benefits such as health insurance, life insurance, short- and long-term disability, maternity leave. There's not just wages involved in living wages; there's other things that benefit and can help get people off the welfare rolls.”
Savage lives in The Plains on 100 acres of land, but has no concerns the plastics facility would harm her trees, family and animals because of the regulations set in place by the Environmental Protection Agency.
“I think everybody should be informed of what we're actually dealing with and what the implications are, as opposed to just ‘plastic has toxins,’” Savage said. “But it's funny. Everything you have, your phone, your glasses, your clothes, everything you have or use on a daily basis is made of plastic. So, getting rid of plastic it's just another ‘not in my backyard moment thing.’”
The Athens County Port Authority responded to environmental impact concerns in a fact sheet passed out during a Public Forum held Aug. 4. According to the sheet, the company would need to obtain permits from the EPA before operation and will comply with both EPA and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s regulations.
Janalee Stock, youth educator for Athens ReThink Plastics, an organization concerned with plastic use, shared a response to ACEDC’s fact sheet.
CCC Plastics will produce pellets or nurdles. The latter are not regulated in the U.S. or Canada, according to Athens ReThink Plastics. When nurdles spill, they can kill wildlife and transport chemicals. Nurdles were found in the Ohio River in Pennsylvania and the company discharging them was held responsible by nonprofit organizations, not the EPA.
According to ACEDC, CCC Plastics does not run a water-intensive operation and recirculates the water used for machine cooling. The Athens County Port Authority conversed with Le-Ax, a water filtration plant in Athens County, to ensure there will be no impacts to local water quality.
Around 16,000 chemicals are used when making plastics, according to Athens ReThink Plastics. CCC Plastics’ process is adding chemicals to resins, and there is no way to know the chemicals used in the manufacturing process due to proprietary formula secrecy.
Nic Swain, a 10-year Athens resident, currently lives in The Plains and heard about CCC Plastics through a local Facebook group. He shared that Athens has been allowing companies to come into the county and pollute the nature that makes the community special.
Swain used to work in a plastic factory and described the conditions as “disgusting”. He also does not believe the facility will create enough jobs to make the environmental impact worth it.
“I mean just between hearing about that, and then the possible data center down here,” Swain said. “It's just so disappointing, so many people down here don't even have reliable internet, and they want to put a data center down here. Who is that even benefiting?”
