In March, the Center for Workforce Information & Analysis reported the unemployment rate in Monroe County was 8.6%, while the overall unemployment for the state of Pennsylvania was 7.3 percent.

One local company is helping with that.

Gov. Tom Wolf announced Alpha Recycling, one of North America’s largest processors of catalytic converters, selected Stroudsburg to expand its operations - creating 30 new jobs in Monroe County.

“This project will further cement our commonwealth’s reputation as a great place to do business and will provide Alpha Recycling with access to all the resources it needs to continue growing,” Wolf said.

With a full-scale processing center in Bronx, New York, and Trenton, New Jersey, the company was looking for a third site, and Alpha Recycling chose Pennsylvania.

The company located a site in Stroudsburg owned by Re-Earth of Stroudsburg Inc. The site at 2 Katz Drive has three 4,000-square-foot buildings.

“The expansion of Alpha Recycling in Stroudsburg presents a welcome opportunity for eastern Pennsylvania and will bring the much-needed family-sustaining jobs to a growing industry in Monroe County,” Wolf said.

The project includes a 20,000-square-foot addition to one of the three existing structures and all three buildings.

A funding proposal from the Department of Community and Economic Development includes a $100,000 Pennsylvania First grant and $60,000 in Job Creation Tax Credits distributed upon creating 30 new jobs. Alpha Recycling has committed to investing $4 million into the expansion.

The funding will help Alpha Recycling purchase necessary equipment and make site development improvements.

Most of the renovations are completed at the Stroudsburg facility. Callers can leave a message on an answering machine although, “the recycling center is not officially up and running,” said Natasza Ostrowska, business development manager, based in the Bronx, New York facility.

Alpha Recycling, along with strategic partner Global Refining Group and its other locations nationwide, are one of North America’s largest processors of catalytic converters. Alpha’s proprietary technology allows the company to source catalytic converters from suppliers all over the nation in great volumes.

The company also purchases and processes other scrap metals such as rims, starters, alternators, air conditioning compressors, batteries, aluminum and copper.

Once the facility in Stroudsburg is fully operational, the public will be able to drop off old catalytic converters and other scrap metal for recycling, Ostrowska said.

After processing catalytic converters, Alpha customers are paid for the reclaimed precious metals and the precious metals are then reused in new catalytic converters of newly manufactured vehicles, among other products.

The company also purchases and processes other scrap metals such as rims, starters, alternators, AC compressors, batteries, aluminum, copper and more.