A Decade In Review  

The Environment and Plastics Industry Council Mar00

mindfully.org comments are in red text

A council of the Canadian Plastics Industry Association

• A Look Back
          Plastics and the 5Rs
          Working Toward a Better Future
• Encouraging Environmentally and Economically
• Efficient Plastics Recycling
          Providing Tools and Guides for Municipalities
          Demonstrating Ways to Increase Recycling and Reduce Costs 
          Developing Markets for Plastics
• Promoting Integrated Resource Management
          Projects
• Advocating Project Stewardship
          International Activities
          Partnering with Stakeholders
• Providing Credible Information
          Educational Community
          Other Communications Vehicles

EPIC:

• The Environment and Plastics Industry Council (EPIC) is a council of the Canadian Plastics Industry Association. Its members are plastics resin manufacturers, processors, converters and recyclers.

GOAL:

• To improve the knowledge and understanding of the environmental benefits of plastics and to represent the plastics industry in promoting responsible use and recovery of plastics resources.

OBJECTIVES:

• To work in partnership with governments, nongovernmental organizations and industry to advance solid waste solutions that optimize the use of all 5Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle, recover energy, retain in landfill)

• To provide information on plastics' environmental performance attributes and benefits in resource conservation over the entire life cycle of plastic products

• To encourage environmental and economic sustainable plastics recycling

A Look Back

The Environment and Plastics Industry Council (EPIC) got its start in the early 90's as a division of the Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI) Canada. It owes its existence to a number of factors that took place in the previous decade.

During the latter half of the 1980's, a series of highly publicized events sensitized the Canadian public to the environmental effects of waste management.

At the same time, several large municipalities in Canada began to develop their future plans to manage household solid waste. Many of these plans involved the siting and development of new landfills and incinerators since the rate of disposal end the estimated capacity of existing landfills indicated a shortfall in the near term future.

As a means of diverting material from landfill, a number of Canadian municipalities commenced curbside recycling. The process of removing a number of items from household solid waste for recycling caught the imagination of the public in the '80s. It soon became apparent that there was a quantity of plastics, almost pristine in nature, which was being discarded. Was this materiel not valuable? Could it not be recycled? What did the plastics industry have to say?

EPIC’s popular Kids Can anti-littering book remains popular today.

SPI Canada's waste management committee had been in place for a number of years. The committee established procedures to reduce end contain resin spills, commented on marine pollution end the entrapment of wild life in plastics end followed developments in the field of plastics recycling, which at the rime was more oriented to post-industrial materials than post consumer. There were two other groups within SPI Canada that were involved with solid waste issues: the Plastics Packaging Council end the Food Services Division.

By giving schools free publications (right), the plastics industry gains a positive image at a minimal cost. By promoting anti-littering, it appears to be leading the way to a clean environment. If most readers only knew of the terrible record the industry has in its total disregard for the environment and human lives. Profit is its only motive. For more information on the record of the plastics industry as a whole, and how it has conspires to defraud citizens of health and home, see the website of the Environmental Working Group at www.ewg.org and the Chemical Industry Archive.

The reality is that we should all be using less of everything, especially plastic.

As the media raised the public's interest in recycling end in subjects such as over packaging and landfill "shortage", the plastics industry felt that it needed a voice to speak to environmentally sound end cost-efficient initiatives for addressing plastics solid waste issues. Thus, the Environment end Plastics Institute of Canada (EPIC) was formed.

Although EPIC was managed initially as a division of SPI, the issue of solid waste increased in importance end the activities moved into the realms of technical research end demonstrations, communications, education end interaction with many levels of government. The membership (made up of plastics resin manufacturers, processors, converters end recyclers) decided that EPIC would be more efficient in carrying out its mandate if it was fiscally autonomous and reported directly to its own board of directors. In 1994, EPIC was formally incorporated end existed as en independent entity until it merged with SPI Canada, the Canadian Plastics Institute end the Industrial Polymers Centre (IPC) to form the Canadian Plastics Industry Association (CPIA) in 1997. It is now a CPIA council committed to the responsible use end recovery of plastic resources.

Plastics and the 5Rs

Today, the issue of solid waste is still an important priority. Some of the drivers have changed. Lack of landfill space has been replaced by concerns about the cost of recycling. The focus is gradually turning toward resource conservation and the role of all 5Rs in addressing waste issues.

Reduction: Plastics achieved significant reduction milestones through lightweighting - the weight of a plastic milk jug has been reduced by 37 per cent since it was first introduced in the early 1970's, plastic grocery sacks are 40 per cent lighter today than they were in 1976, and plastic trash bags are 50 per cent lighter today than in the 1970's.

All the plastic that's ever been produced is still with us today. . . unless, of course, it's been incinerated. And that spews a plethora of toxic substances into the air. It's now been found in the middle of the Pacific Ocean at a rate of six times the amount of zooplankton! There's six times more plastic bits floating around in the Middle of the Pacific Ocean than there is food for the fish and birds to eat! - See "Synthetic Sea: Plastic in the Ocean"  - Transcription of video from Algalita Marine Research Foundation 2001

Reuse: Many industries have moved from disposable types of packaging used for closed-loop shipping and internal operations to reusable bins and totes made from plastic.

The ability to reuse plastics is extremely short-lived because each time they are melted to be reused, they have less strength and other of their original characteristics that made them so wonderful to have. With each reuse, the quality of the plastic degenerates. After just a few reuses they all must be trashed.  That means they are landfilled, burned at a municipal incinerator or cement kiln, or sent to a less wealthy country such as India, to be landfilled or incinerated. 

How many park benches or plastic pallets do we need? Those park benches don't last very long, and then they too must be trashed rather than being reused.  

Recycling: Figures from a 1996 Statistics Canada survey, conducted under the auspices of the National Packaging Protocol (NAPP), point to a 43 per cent diversion rate from landfill for plastics packaging.

Don't even think about using the word 'recycle' with plastic, it just isn't done, not in the true sense of the word. Recycling means that the material is in a closed loop. In other words, it starts out as a container, is used to hold something, and then is made back into another container. Glass is an example of recycling. Plastic is an example of a few reuses before it's trashed.

In that same year, there were 105 plastic recycling plants operating in Canada, compared to only 10 facilities in 1988. Plastics recycling is growing. Today, the two most popular types of post-consumer plastics to be recycled in Canada are polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE).

The former is used mainly in plastics soft drink, water and juice bottles. It is recycled into a variety of products: fiberfill for pillows, ski jackets, sleeping bags and automotive seats; construction and geotextile applications; and "polar fleece" material for clothing, such as sweatshirts, gloves and hats. HDPE, which is used primarily in plastic milk jugs and other rigid containers, is being recycled into many different products, including nonfood bottles and plastic lumber products such as decking, fencing, picnic tables and plastic pallets.

Energy Recovery: Research has shown that recovering plastics for its energy value is a potentially efficient method of recovering value from waste that could not otherwise be recycled.

Energy Recovery is a euphemism for incineration by any means. No thought is given to the environmental and human health damage from incineration. Asthma rates are sky-rocketing. The byproducts of plastics incineration are highly toxic, carcinogenic and endocrine disruptors. 

Retain in Landfill: Plastics are stable, non-degradable and do not contribute to groundwater contamination or gas generation in a landfill.

The plastics industry has made significant progress in minimizing total waste. For example, a German study found that 5.6 million tonnes of other materials would be needed to replace the 1.4 million tonnes of plastics packaging that was used in Germany in 1991 - that's four times the total amount of packaging that was actually used.

Plastics are, in fact, so stable that every bit of plastic ever made is still with us. However, the additives that come along with the plastics are not bound into the plastic, and therefore able to leach into water tables across large distances. When these chemical additives reach the surface waters, wildlife is effected negatively. Many of the additives are endocrine disruptors. - See What are Endocrine Disruptors ?

Working Toward a Better Future

In order to make the best use of resources, EPIC advocates a policy of integrated waste management. This policy recognizes that the best system of waste management for a given product must be developed on a case-by-case basis. For plastics, this means drawing on the full range of options available. By promoting an integrated approach to waste management, EPIC is helping to ensure that plastics will continue to be positive contributors to our society-before, during and after they have fulfilled their role to the consumers.

BAD FROM CRADLE TO GRAVE
Plastics are an incredible waste of natural resources. The waste involved in the production of plastics is nearly unfathomable. Compared to glass, plastic is a mindless endeavor to continue. It is highly toxic during production, use, and disposal.   

Encouraging Environmentally and Economically Efficient Plastics Recycling

As one of the 5Rs,recycling has remained high on the list of important waste management options for plastics. However, recycling is not the only answer; it is merely one of many. As such, EPIC encourages plastics recycling in those cases where it proves to be environmentally and economically efficient.

Although the "R" word was covered above, it should be said over again, as many times as it takes to make people understand... PLASTIC IS NOT RECYCLABLE... period. For further explanation, email mindfully.org 

Providing Tools and Guides for Municipalities

Over the years, EPIC has introduced a number of tools and guides designed to help municipalities optimize their recycling systems by reducing costs and increasing capture rates. Some of these tools include:

• How to Implement a Plastics Recycling Program, a comprehensive guide that addresses plastics recycling through community education programs, locating markets, negotiating contracts and selecting equipment.

• Engineering Guide to Sortation of Plastics in a MRF, an instructive how to guide that helps program operators identify curbside collection strategies, policies and procedures to increase the productivity of materials recovery facilities, assess performance at existing facilities and organize the sortation of plastics.

The tools provided by the plastics industry are paid for by the plastics industry. In other words, the studies that the plastics industry provides to municipalities as proof of the viability of plastic are heavily biased as a result of the industry paying for and supervising those studies.

Best Practices for Curbside Film Recycling, a tool designed to help municipal recycling officials and program operators design and implement successful curbside film recycling programs by defining acceptable material, and procedures for set out at curb, collection, processing, storage and transportation.

The Recycling Collection and Processing Cost Models were the result of a joint effort between EPIC and the Ontario Ministry of Environment and Energy. These two guides have been designed to reduce municipal recycling program costs. They, along with their accompanying computer disks, can be used by municipalities to provide data on establishing a residential curbside collection program for recyclable materials, expanding an existing program, increasing efficiencies of an existing program, and comparing two potential scenarios simultaneously.

The Stretch Wrap Recycling Guide is an informative, how-to guide that helps distributors get involved in the recycling of one of their most common waste products: stretch wrap. The guide takes distributors through all stages of the design and implementation of a stretch wrap recovery program - from locating new markets and developing a system to collecting clean stretch wrap and assessing how a successful recovery program can reduce the cost of waste disposal.

There they go with that "R" word again! This time in reference to STRETCH WRAP. 

Demonstrating Ways to Increase Recycling and Reduce Costs

Many times throughout its history, EPIC has supplemented its guides or tools with hands-on demonstration projects that involved government, municipalities and other organizations. These projects have led to increased plastics recycling. Examples of these demonstration projects include:

• A Peterborough demonstration project, in partnership with the Ontario Ministry of Environment and Energy, that acted as a pilot for the first curbside film recycling project in Canada.

• A Mississauga pilot, in partnership with the Ontario Ministry of Environment and Energy, that itemized methods of sorting and marketing plastics.

• Pilot programs in Ontario and Quebec that investigated the feasibility of collecting and handling used plastic agricultural film, as well as sourcing new applications for the material.

• Test programs to investigate ways of increasing the recovery of polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene baler twine and PET.

• Development and testing of dry process recycling technologies as a way to clean up contaminated streams of polyethylene film for use in composites.

Finding new markets for plastic products, such as hay bale film and rigid plastic containers, is part of EPIC's ongoing work.

Barrhaven Demonstration Project: "Collection of Rig Containers in the Blue Box' was a joint study between the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and EPIC that investigated the impact of adding rigid plastic containers to an existing curbside Blue Box system. The project identified the additional effort and equipment, quantities and types of plastics that were necessary for implementation. It ultimately found that the addition of the rigid plastic containers was feasible and today, many municipalities accommodate rigid containers, in addition to softdrink bottles, in their Blue Box programs.

It may be collected, but stick you nose into the wind and tell us what you smell... That stretch wrap isn't being recycled, or even reused, unless your definition includes incineration AKA  energy recovery.
Even the Inuit women in the far reaches of the north have extremely high levels of dioxin in their breast milk, and it comes from the incineration of PVC. See - Long-range Air Transport of Dioxin from North American Sources

Developing Markets for Plastics

In addition to producing tools for municipalities and initiating pilot programs that outline additional municipal efficiencies, EPIC has also spearheaded a number of initiatives that address the development of markets for recycled plastics. Any long-term sustainable plastics recycling program requires both the plastic material for recycling and applications for the recycled material. By conducting research into new markets, EPIC is helping to create the supply demand situation necessary for sustainable plastics recycling.

These pseudo industry-created markets last just long enough for the news release to go out, and then disappear. The markets are artificially supported by the virgin plastics industry in order to make the "R" word a household term applied to plastics.

• Recycling of PVDC and PVDC-PP Coated Films was a project where EPIC supported a manufacturer in the development of a commercial process to recycle industrial PVDC-coated polypropylene and polyethylene plastic films. The project demonstrated how these materials could be combined with rubber and special additives to enable them to be successfully recycled into new products, such as paintbrush handles and garbage cans.

• Preparation of Interlocking Paving Stones Using Waste Plastics demonstrated the use of scrap plastics in interlocking paving blocks destined for high traffic areas, such as shopping mall parking lots. The plastics were successfully mixed with other materials, such as reclaimed asphalt, to produce an interlocking paving stone that offered longevity and added resistance to oil and gas drips from automobiles.

• Development of Plastic Railway Ties saw EPIC involved in developing a plastic railway tie that could be produced in long lengths for switching yards. The tie used scrap plastic mixed with, aggregate stone.

• Preparation of Fuel Pellets from ASR was a project based on the potential of using the organic portion of Automobile Shredder Residue (ASR) as a fuel in cement kilns. In order to be combined with other fuel sources, such as coal, the ASR needed to be made into briquettes. EPIC successfully commissioned the National Research Council to create a low-cost briquette

• Online Recycled Plastics Market Database is the result of a co-operative agreement between the American Plastics Council (APC) and EPIC. It contains more than 1,650 North American recycling companies in the post industrial and post consumer plastics industry. The database provides easy access to these potential buyers and sellers of recycled plastics through search options, such as province, area code or type of plastics. The database is available through a direct link on EPIC's and APCs web sites.

The plastic pallet has proven to be very popular in closed-loop systems. How many of these are needed?

EPIC spearheaded a project where several hundred plastic pallets were introduced into controlled loops among resin companies in Ontario. The project successfully demonstrated the utility of plastic pallets, the saving in waste from the reduction of the number of one-way wooden pallets in circulation, and the development of a new market for commingled plastics diverted from the waste stream.

Waste Exchange Support was an EPIC program that helped divert plastic materials from landfill. Businesses ranging from bakeries to industrial manufacturers "listed" their plastic materials with the waste exchanges, which in turn, attempted to find "buyers" or users for that material.

EPIC led a multi-stakeholder task force to develop a range of new applications for recycled tubs. The task force pioneered the use of recycled tub material in a variety of products, such as municipal Blue Boxes, plastic dairy crates, plastic grocery tote boxes, non-structural residential construction products and electrical junction boxes, as well as wheel well liners for automobiles.

The Separation of Mixed Plastic Waste Using Electrostatics was a joint project between EPIC, the Ontario Ministry of Environment and Energy and the University of Western Ontario that studied an economically satisfactory method of separating mixed plastics, such as those found in Blue Box collection systems. The project showed that electrostatic separation can be used successfully for separating PET, PVC, HDPE and PP plastics.

A Review of the Manufacturing Processes and Characteristics of Recycled Plastic Lumber (RPL) is an EPIC-sponsored report that provides an overview of the recycled plastics lumber (RPL) industry, and comments on improvements that are necessary for the future growth of this industry. RPL has long been used as a substitute for products made traditionally from other materials, such as wood. It involves the extrusion of waste plastics in dimensions similar to those available for conventional wood lumber, which is then used to fabricate other products such as park benches, picnic, tables, etc. Today, there are many companies manufacturing RPL.

Promoting Integrated Resource Management

EPIC supports the belief that any sound waste management plan is one that takes an integrated approach in order to find those waste management options that are the most environmentally and economically efficient.

Plastics not only provide significant cost benefits during their everyday use, they also provide advantages at the end of the life cycle. For very sound technical, environmental and economic reasons, not all plastics can be recycled. But in those cases where plastic products cannot be recycled or reused, they can contribute to energy recovery.

Throughout the last few years, EPIC has demonstrated how plastics contribute positively to not just one but all of the different waste management options. Through the use of an integrated resource management plan, municipalities can capitalize on all of the benefits inherent in plastics.

Projects

EPIC's work in the area of integrated resource management extends back many years and includes the following.

• Evolution of Milk Packaging in Ontario, an informative report detailing plastics' contribution in reducing the amount of packaging going to landfill using the example of milk packaging. The report reviews milk packaging and its effect on solid waste within the province of Ontario through the years 1968 to 1995.  It would be useful to have a few studies of the toxins found in milk that leach from plastic.

• Guide to Resource Conservation and Cost Savings Opportunities in the Plastics Reprocessing Sector, a joint project between EPIC and the Ontario Ministry of Environment and Energy. The guide helps recyclers identify potential process improvements resulting in increased efficiencies in the use of energy and water and the reduction of waste disposal costs. Reduction in waste disposal to the plastics industry = incineration.

• A Review of the Role of Plastics in Energy Recovery, an in-depth report reviewing the results of the addition of plastics to four full-scale and three pilot-scale energy recovery operations located in various parts of the world. AGAIN! Incineration = dioxin.

• Dioxin - A Review, a scientific review of the effect on dioxin emissions from energy recovery plants when burning plastics. Note the hilarious use of the word "scientific." It is only scientific to industry when they pay for it.

• Leaching of Heavy Metals from ASR, an investigation into the leaching of lead, zinc and copper from automobile shredder residue. EPIC commissioned the National Research Council (NRC) to investigate test results in Ontario and Quebec. The investigation unveiled differences in testing and ultimately led to the adoption of a consistent test throughout the provinces. The NRC also extended the investigation to include research into ASR's propensity to hold lead, making it more valuable as a daily cover for landfill sites. Plastics anywhere is a bad idea. Studies of landfills show the constituent chemicals of many plastics leaching into the ground and surrounding waters.  

• Degradable Plastics, a third-party study jointly sponsored by EPIC and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment that reviewed the available literature on degradable plastics and summarized data from trade journals, scientific data from peer-reviewed journals, and patent literature on commodity plastics claimed to photo or biodegrade.

Degradable plastics is nearly a complete myth. Ask them how much energy (ie: incineration) is required to "degrade" the plastic.

Use of ASR in Blast Furnaces is a series of three reports jointly sponsored by EPIC and the American Plastics Council that investigate the use of Automobile Shredder Residue (ASR) as an alternate fuel source in steel mill blast furnaces. Results show that ASR could reduce fuel costs for mill operators by as much as (US)$20 per ton of coke replaced. The reports also suggest that the use of ASR in blast furnaces will help North American automobile shredders reduce their landfill costs while offering the additional environmental benefits inherent in reducing the amount of coke used, including "saved" emissions associated with traditional fuel extraction, refinement and transportation of coke.

• Tertiary Plastics Recycling, a series of three reports investigating the recovery of chemicals and fuels from used plastics through chemically or thermally induced decomposition as opposed to mechanical (secondary), reextrusion (primary) and burning (quaternary) recycling.

• Life Cycle Inventory Data, a joint project between EPIC and the American Plastics Council that resulted in the creation of a Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) database for the eight predominant resins produced in North America The peer reviewed database provides information for Life Cycle Assessments (LCA), which use the results of an LCI to systematically evaluate the potential environmental impacts of a product throughout its life cycle from cradle to grave.

• Case Examples of Plastics Benefits Using LCI, a series of projects jointly sponsored by EPIC and the American Plastics Council to evaluate the use of Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) in measuring the environmental consequences of a product. A sample case study is "Energy and Greenhouse Gas Savings Using Plastic Refrigerator and Freezer Insulation".

The Integrated Waste Management (IWM) model is a joint project of EPIC and Corporations Supporting Recycling (CSR), with additional help from the City of London, Ontario. The model is a valuable tool for municipalities. It provides a framework designed to assist municipalities and others in the development of effective financially and environmentally sustainable waste management recovery and disposal systems.

The model was designed as a means of integrating environmental considerations into waste management planning. It evaluates the effects of waste management from the time the materials are collected at the curb to the point at which the recyclable material, usable corer post or recovered energy is delivered finally to the user.

The IWM model is a practical working tool that enables municipalities to establish the baseline environmental and economic performance of their waste management systems and to then be able to evaluate the effects of any proposed changes to those systems.

Advocating Product Stewardship

This is one of the most inventive and completely dishonest part of this article. There is no sense of responsibility to anything or anyone except the board members and stock holders. Environmental and human health is not of concern. If it were, then they wouldn't be pumping these highly toxic chemicals into us and the environment and depleting the available natural resources.

The idea of product stewardship is one that has been at the very core of EPIC since its inception. Like the different pieces of a puzzle, product stewardship involves many different groups - each having its own role to play during the life cycle of a product. This concept of shared responsibility is articulated by EPIC through the development of a Product Stewardship Model. The model clearly delineates the roles and responsibilities of the respective players involved in a product's life cycle.

The model encompasses the entire life cycle of a product - from extraction of raw materials through the manufacturing of products, retail, use and post-use management. It also includes stewardship roles for government and nongovernmental organizations. The Model promotes shared responsibility, where each player involved in a product's life cycle has a responsibility to minimize the environmental impacts in his/her part of the chain. The costs incurred in doing this are often internalized and reflected in the cost of the product.

For example, the model assigns each of the stakeholders with the responsibility of minimizing the use of energy and resources and limiting the emissions to air, land and water during the course of carrying out their operation. By so doing, it ensures that everyone works together to minimize the total environmental impacts of a product.

In addition, each stakeholder has an obligation to help others in the chain in carrying out their responsibilities. An example would be EPIC's work in developing new markets for recycled plastics.

International Activities

EPIC has actively followed an Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (DECD) project to develop a Guidance Manual for Governments on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). EPIC has argued for a shared approach on product responsibilities, as defined in EPIC's Product Stewardship Model. This approach insists that the environmental performance of a product throughout its lifecycle be the primary consideration. It argues that producer take-back systems may lead to greater environmental impact.

In addition, EPIC has been actively promoting the concept of environmentally sound management (ESM) of transboundary movements of recoverable wastes between DECD and non-DECD countries (Basel Convention). In conjunction with the American Plastics Council and the Association of Plastics Manufacturers in Europe, EPIC has developed a guide for ESM of plastics, which has been presented to working groups of the Basel Convention.

EPIC is able to keep abreast of different product stewardship initiatives and issues affecting the plastics industry through co-operation with other CPIA councils and with its long-standing relationships with leading international plastics organizations. This latter group represents organizations in Japan, Australia, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Europe and the United States that have a similar mandate of dealing with plastics solid waste.

Partnering with Stakeholders

EPIC has developed extensive working relationships with various stakeholders. Its work with the provinces has led to the creation of Plastics Recovery Strategies for the provinces of Alberta, Nova Scotia and Manitoba. Quebec has just launched its Plastics Recovery Strategy while Strategies for British Columbia and Ontario are under consideration. These Plastics Recovery Strategies become the "blueprint" behind the development of sustainable options for managing plastics waste within the province. Their development involves input from a broad group of stakeholders.

The strategies often are implemented through several phases, with the first phase being the research or investigation that defines the current situation and the latter phases being the actual proposals and their subsequent implementation.

The development of the Nova Scotia Plastics Recovery Strategy was followed by an agreement between EPIC and the Nova Scotia Resource Recovery Fund Board Inc. (RRFBI) to further the development of an environmentally and economically sustainable integrated waste management system within the province of Nova Scotia.

"The Alberta Post-Consumer Plastics Recycling Strategy represents a Master Plan' for plastics recycling for the Edmonton Capital Region and the Province of Alberta. This strategy, sponsored by the Capital Region Advisory and Technical Committees, provides the necessary research, analysis and recommendations to enable all facets of the plastics recycling industry to work towards the common goals of plastic waste reduction and sustainable recycling."

The Alberta Post-Consumer Plastics Recycling Strategy was designed to make plastics recycling economically and environmentally sustainable and to develop alternatives  to landfill for recyclable plastics. The ultimate goal was to reduce and minimize the volume of plastic waste going into Alberta landfills. The strategy has three key elements. 

• Selectivity – Re-focus recycling efforts on those plastics that have good regional markets, quality, volume and price stability to allow broad-scale, sustainable recycling. For municipal plastics recycling, HDPE (#2) bottles and rigid containers meet the criteria. 

• Sustainability – Make needed improvements to collection efficiency and cost-effectiveness so that materials can be recycled within the province on a sustainable and economical basis. 

• Alternatives to Landfill – Because recycling and waste reduction alone cannot solve the landfill problem, the strategy strongly recommends development of an environmentally sound energy recovery strategy for those plastics waste materials that cannot be sustainably recycled. 

The strategy implementation action plan has resulted in some very promising accomplishments to date, namely:  

• A province-wide program to collect plastic (HDPE) milk containers. 

• Province-wide information systems for postconsumer plastics recycling and waste management. 

• The development of complementary programs in the Industrial, Commercial and Institutional (IC&I) sector, such as a pilot program to collect plastic film and stretch wrap from major generators in IC&I sectors.  

• Support for the development of energy recovery as an alternative to landfill for non-recyclable plastics.

Providing Credible Information

Over the years as EPIC's leadership in providing sound solid waste solutions for the plastics industry gained prominence, there

was an increasing need for communication vehicles that would keep governments and nongovernmental organizations (Egos) up-to-date with some of the innovative work in which EPIC and the Canadian plastics industry was involved. This need for communication broadened over time and today, EPIC has several information vehicles designed for a wide range of audiences that include government and GMOs, educators, solid waste managers and co-ordinators, as well as the public. All of these communications vehicles are made available free-of-charge and as many as possible are available in both official languages.

Educational Community

EPIC began its foray into the educational community with the launch of an interactive Elephant Tour program that brought Peanut, the EPIC mascot, into grade two and three classrooms all across the country. The tour involved an educational display instructing students on the seven most popular types of plastics, as well as some information on the 3Rs - reduce, reuse and recycle, and a question and answer computer game.

The Elephant Tour eventually led to the development of an interactive tour designed for the older students in grades five, six and seven. This interactive science tour teaches students about plastics through a series of scientific experiments mixed in with some history, chemistry and other environmental information.

Interest in EPICs interactive tours was very high and many Canadian teachers asked for follow-up material that could be used as lesson plans within the classroom. As a result of this demand, EPIC developed a course curriculum for grades two and three that spoke of plastics' positive contribution to the environment through a series of interesting activities, such as teaching the concept of "reuse" by using a plastic margarine tub to make a bird feeder. The course curriculum explores the history of plastics, the role that plastics play in our everyday lives and the role that plastics play in the environment, as well as the properties of plastics. EPIC subsequently developed a course curriculum that could be used in grades six, seven and eight. This curriculum focuses on the relationship between science, art and plastics by delving into the science and technology of "the Elevated Wetlands", an initiative sponsored by EPIC and the Canadian Plastics Industry Association (of which EPIC is a council). The curriculum teaches students about the roles and benefits of using plastics in common everyday products and reviews the entire life cycle of a plastics product.

Kids Can is another educational tool that EPIC developed for younger students. It, too, has met with a positive reception and has undergone several reprints. "Kids Can" is an entertaining comic book that lets children use stickers and their colouring skills to learn how to keep our environment clean.

Plastics in-class is another popular educational tool that has received critical acclaim from the teaching community. The single page, two-sided newsletter offers teachers some background information about a particular topic, such as plastics in the automotive industry or how a plastic pop bottle becomes a T shirt. The information is accompanied by a series of simple "Did You Know" facts, as well as suggested classroom activities that could be integrated easily into lesson plans.

Other Communications Vehicles

EPIC's News and Views newsletter is written for government and non-government organizations and is designed to inform them of relevant waste management activities taking place within the plastics industry. Articles contained in News and Views can vary from reports on EPIC's involvement in product stewardship to highlights on communication activities, new educational tools, or overviews of public affairs across the country.

TechTalk is another EPIC-developed newsletter that has been designed specifically for municipal waste managers and waste management co-ordinators. The newsletter provides this audience with valuable information on dealing with plastics solid waste in their communities.

EPIC's Plasti-Flash is a single-page, two-sided newsletter designed to provide the Canadian media with short, concise articles on key findings or events dealing with plastics solid waste management in Canada.

In addition to offering newsletters, EPIC also participates in various activities or events that offer opportunities to reach a specific audience. For example, EPIC is an active participant in Waste Reduction Week and Earth Day and has set up displays at many environmental events. One popular event was an industry-sponsored contest that asked young Quebec designers to create a wedding dress using material made from recycled plastics.

With the age of electronic communication upon us, EPIC has invested significant energy and resources into creating a web site that fulfills the needs of its target audiences. The EPIC web site www.plastics.ca/epic  is designed to satisfy audiences by containing a very comprehensive listing of EPIC publications, tools and guides, programs and initiatives. All of these are available free-of-charge and the majority may be downloaded directly from the web site.

In addition to a broad range of technical reports, EPIC also offers past issues of many newsletters, Fact Sheets and other information about plastics and the environment. Plus, it provides additional services, such as the on-line database available from its web site. This database lists buyers and sellers of recycled plastic and contains more than 1,650 recycling companies involved in the postindustrial and post-consumer plastics industry in North America.

EPIC also engages in regular research in order to best fulfill the needs of its different audiences. EPIC periodically polls government, non-governmental organizations, media and the educational community about solid waste management. The results enable EPIC to better focus its resources on future programs.

Environment and Plastics Industry Council
5925 Airport Road, Suite 500
Mississauga, Ontario
L4V 1W1
Telephone: (905) 678-7748
Fax: (905) 678-0774
Web site: www.plastics.ca/epic