First Star Recycling partnered with Hawaiʻi Pacific University’s Center for Marine Debris Research to pilot a groundbreaking effort: turning hard-to-recycle fishing nets collected from the Pacific Ocean into plastic lumber at its Omaha facility. The marine debris travels nearly 4,000 miles to be processed into boards and building materials—demonstrating a global-scale circular economy transformation initiated in Nebraska. Read the full article published by the Nebraska Public News Media on July 8, 2025.

Starting April 2025, the City of Omaha expanded its curbside recycling program to accept hot and cold paper cups, supported by First Star Recycling’s public education campaign. Funded in part by the Foodservice Packaging Institute, the initiative included outreach via digital ads, billboards, social media, and in-store decals, all aimed at helping residents properly recycle paper cups and take-out packaging. First Star emphasized cleaner recycling habits and reducing contamination from wishcycling. See the full article in Resource Recycling.

First Star was present at Earth Day in Bellevue on April 13, Earth Day Lincoln on April 19 at the Nebraska Innovation Campus, where they were a contributing sponsor, and again at Earth Day Omaha on April 26 in Elmwood Park, connecting with hundreds of attendees and community partners across the region

Here at Firstar Fiber Inc., we're proud to announce our 5th year as a member of the Recycled Materials Association (ReMA)! Nothing speaks louder to the value ReMA provides than the continued commitment of its members, and we're thrilled to be a part of this dedicated community for half a decade now.

This case study by the U.S. Plastics Pact takes a look at how Firstar Fiber is developing a comprehensive approach to make it relatively convenient for both residents and for the MRF to recover far more plastics than ever before, and how it is being achieved in a sustainable market-driven manner. Click the link below to read the full story.

We're thrilled to announce that [Your Company Name] has been awarded the prestigious Better Business Bureau (BBB) Torch Award for Ethics for 2024! This award recognizes businesses that demonstrate exemplary ethical standards and commitment to integrity in their operations.

Firstar Fiber was featured in a terrific article by Recycling Today about how our company is creating a circular business model by processing hard-to-recycle plastics from the Hefty® ReNew® orange bags and turning them into feedstock for Solutions Plastic Lumber in-house. Click the link below to read the full story.

Firstar Fiber is thrilled to announce that its President, Dale Gubbels, has been recognized as the 2023 Advocacy Champion by the Nebraska Recycling Council (NRC). Additionally, Firstar Fiber’s innovative product, Solutions Plastic Lumber, has been awarded the prestigious 2023 Waste Diversion Project of the Year by the NRC. Firstar Fiber’s accolades from the Nebraska Recycling Council underscore their dedication to sustainability, recycling, and environmental responsibility. These awards serve as a testament to its ongoing efforts to create a more sustainable and environmentally friendly future. To learn more about each of these awards, click here.

First Star Recycling’s Dave Heck had the honor of being bestowed a 2023 Environmental Champion Award by Green Bellevue for his efforts at First Star Recycling and Solutions Plastic Lumber. The award was accepted on Dave’s behalf by Andrea Thompsen and recognizes Dave’s outstanding leadership in promotion of sustainable, green practices. Thank you Green Bellevue!

Whispering Roots received $50,000 from the OPPD Greener Together program to work with students from grade school through high school on sustainability, STEM and agricultural fields of study. Whispering Roots is building raised garden beds using lumber made by First Star Recycling and Solutions Plastic from hard-to-recycle plastic waste diverted from the landfill. The nonprofit works with students who live in socially and economically underserved communities. You can read more about the project here.

Firstar Fiber is reminding all area ghosts, goblins and especially candy-eating trick and treaters that they can restore life to their deceased candy wrappers this Halloween. They simply need to put them in a Hefty® ReNew® Orange Bag to have them resurrected at Firstar Fiber’s laboratory (aka, plastic lumber operation). To help spread the word (and not litter) and to extend the life of the Douglas County Landfill, Firstar is offering to mail free Hefty bag samples to youngsters who email a picture of themselves in among their all hallow eve loot, either before or after they’ve indulged their sweet tooths. Then, they simply need to put the empty wrappers in the bag along with other items listed with the bags, tie them off then put them in their recycling carts.