🙅🏻‍♀️No Way SOBE! An UpdateđźŹ
In Youngstown, Ohio, community leaders, supportive grassroots advocates, and local council members have been working together to protect the community by opposing the false solution of so-called “chemical recycling.” SOBE Thermal Energy facility, currently operating as a natural gas-powered steam heating and cooling facility, aimed to bring tire and plastic pyrolysis into the heart of a college town and environmental justice community, in violation of established zoning laws. With thoughtful and pointed organizing, strategic legal opportunities, and community determination, the project remains stalled—and recent developments point toward a major victory for public health and environmental justice. 💪
The local ordinance that created a moratorium which was extended through December 2025.
In December 2023, after months of community mobilization, and with the support of our Appalachia Director, Jess Conard, the Youngstown City Council unanimously passed the nation’s first-ever moratorium on pyrolysis of plastic, tires and electronic waste. This historic action was driven by local community leaders and advocates who consistently brought their voices to City Hall and made clear that their neighborhoods were not dumping grounds for toxic plastic trash and pollution.
The one-year moratorium gave the community a crucial pause in the fight against chemical recycling. However, just two months later, on Valentine’s Day 2024, the Ohio EPA issued SOBE a 10-year air permit. The city of Youngtown immediately filed an appeal, recognizing the public health and environmental threats posed by the project.
Throughout 2024, community members, grassroots leaders from local groups like SOBE Concerned Citizens, and Beyond Plastics allies continued to build pressure on decision-makers. In December 2024, Youngstown City Council unanimously extended the moratorium for another year, reaffirming their commitment to protect the health of the community and local ecosystems.
This summer 2025, SOBE continued to cause concern in the Youngstown community when Belmont Avenue became the scene of a dramatic “road blow-out” wherein a steam leak from a ruptured steam line—part of SOBE’s downtown steam heating infrastructure—sent steam pouring up through the pavement. Heavy machinery was deployed to excavate the roadway and locate the damaged pipe, which had been struck by a contractor working nearby.
In the following months, SOBE’s plans continued to unravel. The company failed to start construction within the Ohio EPA’s required 18-month period or apply for an extension—meaning its air permit technically expired. Compounding its troubles, SOBE’s own lawyers withdrew from the appeal case due to non-payment, leaving the company vulnerable as the appeal process dragged on. The case is now scheduled for hearings in November 2025.
The latest news signals even deeper cracks in SOBE’s foundation. This year, the State of Ohio ordered SOBE Thermal Energy into receivership. This move places the facility under state oversight, with a court-appointed receiver tasked with returning or selling the property. Essential services are expected to transfer to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO).
For the community, this news represents forward progress to a safer future in Youngstown. It means the looming threat of tire and plastic pyrolysis at this location is fading, and the community is one step closer to ensuring that future uses of the site are safe, sustainable, and beneficial to local families—not out-of-town polluters.
Youngstown’s campaign against SOBE shows what is possible when grassroots voices, local government, and national allies work together. From the first-in-the-nation moratorium to ongoing legal challenges, this movement has stopped a dangerous project in its tracks and is reshaping the conversation about chemical recycling across the country.
The fight is not over yet—the permit appeal remains active—but with community determination and mounting evidence against SOBE, momentum is clearly on the side of environmental justice. And you can help below!
đź“ŁPLEASE ADD YOUR VOICE
Join SOBE Concerned Citizens in urging the Ohio EPA to revoke SOBE’s air pollution permit. Youngstown is already designated an Environmental Justice Community of Concern (US EPA) due to decades of steel mill pollution leading to bad health outcomes for residents. Youngstown has more than enough toxic air pollution already and does not want to serve as SOBE’s guinea pig for this un-tested, not-yet-proven-safe technology.
Option 1 for locals: If you are a Mahoning Valley resident, please sign this local petition to revoke SOBE's pyrolysis permit.
Option 2 for non-locals: If you are NOT a Mahoning Valley resident but are a US resident, you can still sign the nationwide petition.
