Plastics recycler may build plant to feed manufacturers. (Recovery Processes International Inc.)

In Spartanburg, S.C., there's a mountain of used soft-drink bottles big enough to cover a football field to the depth of 12 feet. Nearly every one of those pop bottles was drained by a thirsty resident of Washington state.

That fact has led Recovery Processing International to consider establishing a new plant in Washington, possibly this year.

Even though Recovery Processing just fired up a plant in Spartanburg to transform the plastic into raw material for new products, it's weighing another $5 million factory in the bottles' state of origin.

That would delight local recycling promoters, who are trying to attract a plastics processing plant here to fill the gap between the state's vaunted curbside recycling programs and local manufacturers of plastic products.

"It's a very strong possibility you'll see us up there," said Val Olsen, executive vice …