October 2016
The circular economy - what does it mean for companies like Emterra
It is waste reduction week in Canada and this has me thinking about a book called “Rubbish” by Richard Girling, published in 2005. A couple of the statistics in that book stood out
then and still make us cringe today. Think about this:
- 90 per cent of all raw materials used in manufacturing becomes waste before the product leaves the factory floor
- 80 per cent of products that are made get thrown away within the first six months of their life
I want to believe that 10 years later we’ve improved those numbers but I bet it’s not by much. In a world where we are seeing the availability of natural resources diminish at an ever increasing rate and recycling is pretty much stagnant, we’ve got to find alternatives.
That’s where the concept of the circular economy comes in and it’s one that we, at Emterra, are focusing on to a considerable extent.
We wholeheartedly support the move from our current “take-make-dispose” linear economy to a circular economy where we “take-make-recover-make-recover-make-recover” and so on, until the natural resources are returned to their natural state, replenishing the earth.
As we were a pioneer in recycling 40 years ago, we want to be a pioneer again in rethinking how Emterra can grow and serve in the circular economy. It’s at our door now and we have to be ready and we have to be proactive.
In two of the stories in this issue of ‘Terra Notes, you can start to get a sense of where we are going and what we are thinking. One of them is the new announcement that I’ve partnered with Tony Moucachen of Merlin Plastics Group to purchase the assets of Entropex, an Ontario-based plastics recycler. We made that move because we believe it can help position our respective companies to contribute to the circular economy by preserving the utility and value of plastic resource materials over their extended lifecycle. In a second story we share thoughts on how we need to re-align our tire recycling enterprise so it, too, can grow and prosper in the sustainable economy model.
We hope you enjoy this issue and, as always, welcome your comments and questions.
All the best,
Veteran North American recyclers create partnership to revitalize plastics recycler Entropex
Emmie Leung and Tony Moucachen, both veterans of the North American consumer packaging recycling industry, announced on October 18 they have formed a partnership to purchase the assets of Entropex, a well-known Canadian company based in Sarnia, Ontario. Entropex, which had been in receivership since mid-July, processed post-consumer rigid plastic packaging for the manufacturing of new, sustainable consumer and automotive products
Rubber industry explores new circular economy imperative
Developing sustainable products that drive the circular economy held the spotlight at the Rubber Recycling Symposium that took place in early October at Niagara Falls, Ontario. The future of tire recycling – what it looks like, and the barriers and opportunities to getting there – threaded through various presentations including a panel discussion on recycling markets and circular economy solutions featuring Emterra Tire Recycling CEO, Emmie Leung.
Courtenay residents show “single stream” recycling can be best of the best
Emterra is as proud as we can be of our municipal partner, the City of Courtenay in British Columbia. At the Union of B.C. Municipalities’ annual conference in September, Multi-Material British Columbia (MMBC) presented Courtenay with an award for achieving the lowest rate of unacceptable materials in their recycling of all single stream recycling programs in the province.
Emterra awarded another best of the best” in B.C. recycling
Here’s the proof that the combination of clear, effective educational outreach and reinforcing proper recycling behaviour at the curb does pay off. Earlier in October, Multi-Material British Columbia (MMBC) presented Emterra Environmental with a “best of the best” award for achieving the lowest level of unacceptable materials of any municipal “two-stream” recycling program in BC.
Helping to give newcomer students in Winnipeg a head start
Starting school in September is full of excitement and, for some, anxiety. For a group of newcomer kids from Syria, Somalia and a half dozen other countries, the first days of school in Winnipeg – their new Canadian home – undoubtedly added a few new layers of uncertainty. But the transition to their new life went a little bit smoother, thanks to a thoughtful gift from the employees of Winnipeg’s Emterra Environmental.
Challenge Penticton success for the Walsh family
What does it take to run one of the greatest endurance races on the planet? Ed Walsh, Emterra’s VP of Operations for B.C. knows the answer to that. In fact, he’s done it. In late August, Ed and his wife Daphne competed in Challenge Penticton, a triathlon-style race through B.C.’s Okanagan Valley.
“I completed the Aqua Bike race, which includes a three KM swim and 120 KM bike ride,” says Ed who adds, “and Daphne completed the full traditional Ironman distance - three KM swim, 120 KM bike and a 30 KM run.”
Ed and Daphne finished fourth and eleventh respectively in their age divisions, both qualifying for the world championships in Penticton next year. Congratulations and we will be rooting you on!
Even in their famous winters, Winnipeggers are happy with Emterra’s service
So much has been reported in the Winnipeg media about garbage and recycling services that it’s hard to get a realistic picture of how happy Winnipeggers are with Emterra’s service for garbage and recycling collection. The truth is, even in the dead of the famous Winnipeg winters, four out of five householders are satisfied or very satisfied with the service they get.
Welcome to the Emterra family
We would like to welcome the Region of Waterloo, Ontario's townships of North Dumfries, Wellesley, Wilmot and Woolwich to the Emterra family. As well, the Town of Maple Creek, Saskatchewan.
We are also excited to announce that we will be operating three new transfer stations in Metro Vancouver. These transfer stations will be located in North Vancouver, in Surrey near Port Kells and Coquitlam, B.C.
We are hiring!
With a few new collection and transfer contracts, Emterra Environmental is searching for talent. Visit our careers page to see all current openings.
