Burlington board backs recycling plant at vacant former textile mill

Burlington’s long-vacant former textile mill took a major step toward a new life Thursday, when the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously recommended rezoning the 8.54-acre property for a plastics recycling operation that Topia Holdings says could employ up to 100 people.

The project centers on a 216,500-square-foot mill complex at the junction of North Park Avenue and Elmira Street, on a site bounded by Durham Street, Hamilton Street, Elmira Street, Park Avenue, Robertson Street and Adams Street. City records identify the case as Conditional Rezoning 25-08 and show it covers 18 parcels that once belonged to Burlington Industries and later housed Carolina Dyeing and Finishing and a shipping and receiving business, Rapid Transit.

Topia, based in Saxapahaw, bought the property in 2025 and wants to reuse the existing structure instead of demolishing it. The company says it would process industrial plastic waste into recycled feedstock, handling post-industrial and post-consumer plastics including HDPE, LDPE, PP, PS, PET, ABS, PC and nylon. Its plan also calls for a closed-loop water system, shredding, washing and extrusion, and the company says it operates as an Employee Ownership Trust, a model that holds shares for employees’ long-term benefit.

Burlington lawyer Ryan Moffitt, who is listed as the applicant, told planners the project would give new purpose to a property that has been underused and has become a liability to the community. The commission’s 6-0 vote does not end the process. Burlington’s Planning and Zoning Commission is advisory only, and Burlington City Council will make the final decision on whether the rezoning moves ahead.

If council approves the request, the land would be reclassified as conditional industrial, opening the door to a recycling center and about 30 other industrial uses. Topia’s proposal includes 13 development conditions, a sign the city will continue to review how the site operates before any construction or conversion begins.

The proposal also fits a broader North Carolina trend. The state Department of Environmental Quality says its Recycling Markets Directory is meant to connect waste generators with processors and remanufacturers, and a state legislative briefing on plastics recycling says the industry supports 15,000 private-sector jobs. For Burlington, the question now is whether an abandoned mill can be turned into a modern industrial employer without losing sight of the impacts that come with bringing heavy material processing back into an old manufacturing district.