(Cuyahoga County) - High-paying jobs could be coming to Cleveland's Glenville neighborhood.
Hempcrete is a company that uses industrial hemp that has no THC, which is the ingredient they say creates a high.
A ribbon cutting ceremony was held at the facility on Kirby Avenue along the Shoreway. The Glenville facility would hire 650 people starting at $17 per hour and would offer both childcare and healthcare.
Backers hope to open the manufacturing facility next June, the first job fair is to be held next month. The company will use hemp grown in Kentucky, and New York, and would arrive in bundles like bales of hay.
Hemp is used to make a variety of commercial and industrial products including rope, clothes, food, paper, textiles, plastics, insulation and biofuel.
The bast fibers can be used to make textiles that are 100% hemp, but they are commonly blended with other organic fibers such as flax, cotton or silk, to make woven fabrics for apparel and furnishings.
The inner two fibers of the plant are more woody and typically have industrial applications, such as mulch, animal bedding and litter.
When oxidized (often erroneously referred to as "drying"), hemp oil from the seeds becomes solid and can be used in the manufacture of oil-based paints, in creams as a moisturizing agent, for cooking, and in plastics.
Hemp seeds have been used in bird feed mix as well. A survey in 2003 showed that more than 95% of hemp seed sold in the European Union was used in animal and bird feed.
(Photos by Ken Robinson/WTAM)
© 2018 iHeartMedia, Inc.
Hear news updates at the top and bottom of the hour: wtam.com/listen