Burlington’s city council has signed off on a rezoning request that will allow the new owner of a once-dilapidated textile plant to set up a recycling center to process plastic waste from large, industrial clients.
The council voted 5-to-0 in favor of this land use change on Tuesday to enable Saxapahaw-based Topia Holdings to complete its ongoing transformation of an 8.5-acre site off of West Webb Avenue that formerly housed Burlington Industries.
Most recently home to Carolina Dyeing and Finishing, the property in question comprises 18 separate parcels on either side of the intersection of North Park Avenue and Elmira Street. This once-bustling industrial complex had gone out of commission by the time Topia acquired the property in 2025, and it had more or less gone to seed, according to Ryan Moffitt, an attorney for the Alamance County concern.
“This property was in dire condition. I’m sure the police scanners picked up a thing or two in this facility. It’s been the subject of looting and vandalism, and there was no copper left. . . To see where this project is today, after 90 really fast days of work, is nothing short of miraculous.”
– Attorney Ryan Moffitt
“This property was in dire condition,” Moffitt informed the council during a public hearing on Tuesday. “I’m sure the police scanners picked up a thing or two in this facility. It’s been the subject of looting and vandalism, and there was no copper left. . . To see where this project is today, after 90 really fast days of work, is nothing short of miraculous.”
In order to continue this transformation, Topia Holdings has asked the city to replace the site’s heavy industrial classification with a conditional industrial designation that’s tailor-made for the recycling center. This new zoning label not only permits the intended use of “post-industrial” plastic recycling but also allows a whole host of other activities that fall under the rubric of industrial use.
According to the company’s representatives, the former textile plant will ultimately be used to process plastic scrap from large manufacturers so it can be reused for other purposes. The proposed recycling center will not accept household waste from area residents.
Despite Moffitt’s glowing report on the plant’s current condition, the property’s status as a “brownfield” site raised some concerns for councilman Ian Baltutis. Baltutis went on to ask Topia’s representatives about the regulatory hurdles that confront their plans. He also inquired about the possible health risks from contaminated dust as well as the noise from the trucks that will frequent the recycling center.
Alex Long, the CEO of Topia Holdings, went on to reassure Baltutis that he and his colleagues have been working with environmental and legal professionals to negotiate all applicable state and federal regulations. He added that preliminary air quality tests haven’t shown any appreciable health risk to people on site, although he conceded that further testing will have to take place to monitor any possible hazard.
“We passed the initial air testing with not only North Carolina industrial standards but also California residential standards. We are taking every possible precaution to protect the people inside the building. . .
“That being said, none of this is guaranteed. It is 100 percent a risk on us to take on a site with known contamination and to take it through a process that will last two to three years.”
– Topia CEO Alex Long
“We passed the initial air testing with not only North Carolina industrial standards but also California residential standards,” he added. “We are taking every possible precaution to protect the people inside the building.”
Long went on to discount the potential for any noise-related nuisance from the recycling plant. He observed that the existing facility was already designed to accommodate truck traffic, while the forthcoming operations will occur inside the structure.
Long informed the council that Topia currently has about 50 people working on site, although many of them are contractors involved in the facility’s restoration. He added that the plan is to begin operating the recycling center with a workforce of about 30 people, which could grow to 100 once the facility is clanging away on all cylinders.
“That being said, none of this is guaranteed,” Topia’s CEO acknowledged. “It is 100 percent a risk on us to take on a site with known contamination and to take it through a process that will last two to three years.”
Burlington’s mayor Beth Kennett revealed that she and her colleagues had previously received an email from resident Kandice Pass, who raised many of the same concerns that Baltutis brought up on Tuesday. The council heard nary of peep, however, from the handful of residents who were on hand for Tuesday’s public hearing.
Meanwhile, Moffitt told the city’s elected leaders that he can’t imagine a better way to repurpose a previously “blighted” industrial site.
“I can’t personally see a reason to deny it,” he added. “If this doesn’t get approved, I can’t see where else this property would go.”
The council went on to vote 5-to-0 to approve the rezoning request.
