On Friday afternoon, a massive industrial fire erupted at the East Jordan Plastics Factory in South Haven, Michigan. The blaze started at 3:47 pm and firefighters remained on the scene until the site was finally cleared around 6:00 am Saturday. A giant column of smoke could be seen for more than 40 miles, and at least 16 different fire departments used about 2 million gallons of water to contain the fire.

​Founded in 1947, East Jordan Plastics makes sustainable commercial horticultural growing containers widely used by large-scale, controlled-environment cultivation operations, including commercial greenhouses and cannabis cultivation. The business has been in the same family for more than three generations.

​In a statement, the company said, "We experienced a substantial fire at our East Jordan Plastics facility in South Haven, Michigan. Our team quickly evacuated the facility, and no injuries have been reported." It is working with local authorities and emergency responders to determine a cause.

​The plastics company makes recyclable plant trays, growing pots and plant containers. It also runs a large-scale industrial recycling unit that processes some 20 million pounds of used horticultural plastics annually, including polystyrene, polypropylene and high-density polyethylene.  

​East Jordan Plastics operates recycling facilities at a 150,000-square-foot facility in South Haven as well as a 260,000-square-foot plant in Lyons, Georgia. Those materials supply container manufacturing operations in East Jordan, Beaverton, South Haven and Lyons.

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