New York – Reju To Build $390M Textile Recycling Hub In Rochester, With Jobs Planned
Rochester, N.Y. — A French textiles-recycling company plans to build a $390 million “textile regeneration” hub in Rochester that state officials say will turn discarded clothing and other polyester-based materials into new products while creating about 70 jobs.
Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office said Reju will locate on an 18.9-acre vacant lot at Eastman Business Park and expects the facility to be operating by the end of 2029.
Plans call for a 145,000-square-foot plant using proprietary technology developed with IBM Research to regenerate textile waste, starting with polyester—into what the company calls Reju Polyester. The state said the regenerated material has a 50% lower carbon footprint than virgin polyester and is designed to be recyclable multiple times.
Reju says the Rochester site could regenerate the equivalent of about 300 million articles a year that might otherwise end up in landfills. State environmental officials highlighted the scale of textile disposal in New York, estimating roughly 1.4 billion pounds of clothing, footwear, linens and other textiles are thrown away each year.
Empire State Development is supporting the project with a $4 million capital grant and up to $1 million in performance-based Excelsior Jobs Tax Credits tied to job-creation commitments, with Monroe County, the City of Rochester and local economic development groups also assisting.
What parents should know
- Watch for future hiring and training announcements if your teen or college student is interested in engineering, technician, or advanced manufacturing careers.
- In the meantime, reduce textile waste by repairing, donating, or using local textile-recycling drop-offs when available.
State and company updates are expected as site remediation and construction move forward; families can track announcements through the governor’s and Empire State Development news pages.
This article was produced by a education parenting today journalist with the assistance of AI. This is not legal advice. All content is reviewed for accuracy and fairness.
