OAKDALE, Calif., Dec. 20, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Itec Environmental Group, Inc. (OTCBB:ITEC) today announced that its Riverbank, California plastic recycling plant has begun material operations. Itec anticipates that the Riverbank plant will be fully operational and producing recycled PET and HDPE early in 2006. Itec has (i) installed approximately $3,500,000 in equipment, and (ii) completed over seventy five percent (75%) of all necessary testing procedures.
Itec expects to complete all necessary testing procedures within the next 30 days. The final testing involves the use of the patented Solvent Wash process and Co2 in the patented Eco2(TM) system. Once the testing is complete, Itec believes the Riverbank plant will be operational and processing contaminated plastics (PET and HDPE) and producing clean recycled plastic at the rate of 2,100 pounds per hour. Production will increase over the next few months and will reach capacity of 6,000 pounds per hour sometime in the 3rd quarter of 2006. The Company expects the plastic produced to sell for approximately $0.55 per pound.
"The completion of our testing and product analysis will enable us to recycle and redistribute PET and HDPE in a more financially and economically beneficial manner than any of our competition. The Riverbank plant provides us with the operating template we anticipate building and operating throughout the world," said Gary DeLaurentiis, Itec's CEO.
About the Company
Itec Environmental Group offers solutions to pressing environmental problems faced by public agencies and private entities involved in the recycling of plastics. In a research partnership with Honeywell FM&T, Itec has developed and successfully commercialized a new system for the recycling of plastic containers. Its proprietary Eco2(TM) System costs 30% less to operate, uses no water, removes all contaminates and odors from the finished flake, is closed-loop and thus non-polluting, and produces no toxic by-products.
Please visit our web site at http://www.iteceg.com. Any interested parties wishing to be included in Itec Environmental Group's mailing list, please email your request to info@iteceg.com or Contact: Gary M. DeLaurentis, 209-848-3900.
Cautionary Warning Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may contain "forward-looking statements." In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "may," "will," "should," "could," "expects," "plans," "intends," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential" or "continue" or the negative of such terms and other comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements about our market opportunity, our strategies, competition, expected activities and expenditures as we pursue our business plan, and the adequacy of our available cash resources. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in any forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Actual results may differ materially from the predictions discussed in these forward-looking statements. Changes in the circumstances upon which we base our predictions and/or forward-looking statements could materially affect our actual results. Additional factors that could materially affect these forward-looking statements and/or predictions include, among other things: (1) our limited operating history; (2) our ability to pay down existing debt; (3) our ability to attract and retain key executive officers and the professional advisors necessary to guide us through our corporate restructuring; (4) the successful consummation of the $2,498,000 loan through the California Integrate Waste Management Board; (5) unforeseen costs and expenses; (6) potential litigation with our shareholders, creditors and/or former or current investors; (7) the Company's ability to comply with federal, state and local government regulations; (8) the Company's ability to secure raw plastic and produce and sell a large quantity of its PET and HDPE flake; and (9) other factors over which we have little or no control.