Mixed-Plastic Recycling Technology… The Recycling Challenge
Creating a Closed-Loop Process for Mixed Plastics
When EFS-plastics owner and president, Martin Vogt, moved to Canada in 2006, he saw a gap in the recycling market. Nobody had found a commercially sustainable solution for processing mixed plastics to create raw materials for new products. So, as soon as Stewardship Ontario invited proposals for innovative mixed plastics recycling solutions, Martin’s company was among those that stepped forward.
The Blue Box Solution
Stewardship Ontario Funds Commercial Concept Testing
In February 2010, Stewardship Ontario, along with Waste Diversion Ontario (WDO), entered into an agreement with EFS-plastics Inc. to help purchase additional equipment for its mixed rigid plastics processing plant, which was then located in Elmira, Ontario. This meant that more mixed plastics could be recycled in local markets.
$1.5 Million Loan Enables Facility Expansion and Relocation
Additional investment from Stewardship Ontario enabled EFS-plastics to double its capacity and relocate to nearby Listowel, where the new 39,000-square-foot plant will be able to process up to 12,000 tonnes of mixed plastics a year. It’s here that the company produces high quality resin pellets, which can replace virgin plastic up to 100 per cent in the manufacture of new consumer products. The company sources its Blue Box mixed plastics from Waterloo, Hamilton, Niagara Falls and York Region, as well as other municipalities in Ontario, Quebec and the U.S.
Environmental Benefits
EFS-plastic’s closed-loop manufacturing process currently diverts over 10,000 tonnes per year of mixed rigid plastics (#1 – #7) and plastic films (#2 and #4) from landfills, saving more than 62,000 megawatt hours of energy—the annual consumption of approximately 1,700 4-person households.
The Mixed-Plastics Collaborators
Stewardship Ontario’s Blue Box—A not-for-profit organization funded and governed by the industries that make and market the products and packaging materials recycled through the programs it manages—the Blue Box and Orange Drop.
EFS-plastics Inc.—A post-consumer plastic recycling and reprocessing company, specialized in mixed plastic (1-7 mix) and film (shopping bag) recycling. High quality pellets can replace virgin plastic up to 100 per cent in the manufacture of plastic bags, tool boxes, piping and other consumer products. The process diverts over 10,000 tonnes/year of mixed plastics and shopping bags from landfill.
Connect with Stewardship Ontario
We are always interested in hearing about new ideas to improve recycling. Contact us to talk about your green innovations and forward-thinking recycling technologies.