Plastics Project

Enhancing Plastics Collection in Ontario Municipalities

Recycling the wide range of plastics that cycle through Ontario recycling systems is an ongoing priority for the CIF. The increasing volumes of lightweight & laminated plastics materials is a challenge and since its inception, the CIF has worked with municipalities across the province to define and implement solutions.

Baled mixed plastic at Sault Ste. Marie

The CIF continues to work with various plastics processors and with Stewardship Ontario to establish and strengthen viable markets for plastics collected through Ontario blue box (BB) programs. These projects are uncovering new technologies and approaches to process film plastics, rigid & EPS, non-bottle grades of PET and laminates (plastics & paper).

By the end of 2012, we expect new operations will have more than sufficient capacity to handle more than the existing rigid plastics collected by municipalities and we encourage municipalities to undertake the necessary upgrades, training and promotion and education to expand or introduce the collection of these materials to their program.

Plastics is a Priority

The CIF is working with industry stewards to improve the collection and processing of mixed plastic packaging, including thermoform PET containers. Please contact Mike Birett for further information.

Joint Plastics Projects

Initiated in 2008, the goal of project #238 conducted with Stewardship Ontario is to expand re-processing capacity & end markets for non-bottle blue box plastics # 3-7. The project incorporates three main elements:

• NAPCOR project: new market for thermoform PET
• EFS: expand mixed rigid & film capacity up to 14,000 tonnes/year
• Entropex: #1-7 mixed rigid demonstration project at 30,000 tonnes/yr – seeking 50% increase in Ontario’s overall plastics recovery.

A key part of this project involves sharing information with all interested municipalities. CIF hosts conference call/webinars to share information and discuss plastics issues as part of our plastics outreach initiative.

CIF conducts conference calls with municipal staff to provide timely updates on these projects. The intent is to share important information and to solicit your feedback on these and other issues of importance for Ontario recycling programs.

Plastics Workshops

Expanding plastics collection in BB programs is a decision that requires careful planning and consideration. Under Project #329, the CIF piloted a day-long plastics workshop in December 2010. The workshop provided guidance and helped answer key questions about expanding plastics collection.

Other Plastics Projects

Several Ontario communities have implemented local projects to manage higher volumes and wider varieties of plastics. These projects offer valuable information for recycling programs and can be viewed by searching for "plastic" at the "Projects" page.