NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY, Pa. — This field along Route 11 in Point Township is where Encina Development Group was supposed to build its $1 billion manufacturing plant. But late Thursday afternoon, Encina announced it would not be coming to Northumberland County. A spokesperson for the circular recycling plant said Encina will instead pursue other projects in America and abroad.
"Most communities, most counties, most municipalities would love to have a billion dollar company come in and say we want to build a factory," Northumberland County Commissioner Sam Scchicatano said.
Sam Scchicatano is a Northumberland County Commissioner and says Encina would have been a major boost to the local economy, bringing hundreds of jobs to Central Pennsylvania.
"It was a disappointment for me as a commissioner, basically because of the loss of very good paying jobs, probably hundreds of jobs," Scchicatano said.
Encina first announced plans to come to Point Township in April 2022. At the time, the company told Newswatch 16 it would process 450,000 tons of materials each year, saving them from landfills.
"Just a lot of people came together and said we don't want this in our backyard," Kip Armstrong said.
Kip Armstrong lives in Danville and is part of the group Save Our Susquehanna, which started meeting last year in response to Encina.
"The prevailing wind from that plant would have been for all that stuff; all the poison stuff coming out the stacks would be blowing right over the town," Armstrong said.
"It just blew up around here. We don't want that," Joe Burge said.
Stop Encina signs line this section of Route 11. Joe Burge and his neighbors live about 200 yards from where Encina planned to build.
"The odor of plastic, the noise pollution. For the homeowners right next to the plant, it was a battle for us. We were at every meeting trying to see what was going to happen," Burge said.
Encina was supposed to open in 2026.