Watch the recording from the webinar below!
Increasing plastics recovery and recycling rates are key to achieving a circular economy in the Great Lakes region, yet the region’s recycling infrastructure is aging, much is outdated and can’t accommodate the quantities or the advancements in plastic materials, and there continues to be a lack of investment. To get us closer to achieving zero plastic waste, more investment is needed in technology and infrastructure solutions and the scaling of solutions that will eliminate plastic waste.
Mechanical recycling is the most common method of converting plastic waste into new plastic products, but it’s not enough to achieve circularity at the pace we need. Advanced recycling is another option, introduced for hard-to-recycle plastic materials, like food packaging and bubble wrap.
To give us a 101 on advanced recycling in this month’s webinar was Laura Bishop, Sustainability and Community Engagement Manager at Imperial, breaking down what it is and how it works. We also heard how Imperial is evaluating advanced recycling in southern Ontario with capacity to process 80 million pounds per year of plastic that would otherwise be destined for landfill or incineration.
Speaker:
Laura Bishop, Sustainability and Community Engagement Manager, Imperial
Moderator:
Lora Shrake, Senior Program Director, Business and Sustainability, Council of the Great Lakes Region
