CPIA, City of Montreal extend PS recovery and recycling program, add new partner

The City of Montreal and the Canadian Plastics Industry Association (CPIA) have extended their polystyrene recovery and recycling program at the LaSalle Ecocenter by five years, and added a new plastics processing partner to the program.

The announcement follows what the Toronto-based CPIA described as a “very successful pilot project…which, between October 2013 and September 2014, saw the recovery of more than two and half tonnes of polystyrene, diverting this material from landfill sites.”

CPIA also announced that Granby, Que.-based Polyform will now use the polystyrene collected at the LaSalle Ecocenter in the manufacturing of durable construction products.

“While the pilot succeeded in collecting 2.5 tonnes of polystyrene, the real success of the project is that we were able to establish the necessary collection and recycling infrastructure, including the partnership with Polyform that will allow the program to remain a valuable service at the LaSalle depot,” said Krista Friesen, vice president, sustainability at CPIA. “We are also interested in seeing this program model expand to other communities across Quebec.”

“Polyform is proud to participate in this recycling program with the City of Montreal and CPIA,” said François Beauchesne, vice president of sales and business development. “Our recycling center can recycle millions of kilograms of plastics every year, including the polystyrene containers and packaging that we find regularly in the Montreal homes. These containers and packaging represent a source of recycled content that is useful when manufacturing new sustainable products.”

The program allows Montreal residents to bring back their polystyrene items to the LaSalle Ecocenter in Montreal. The polystyrene can be recognized by a triangle with the number 6 inside, a symbol that appears on many consumer products, including food packaging and the rigid foam used to protect products, such as electronics and small appliances.

Residents can consult the list of the accepted polystyrene products by visiting www.ville.montreal.qc.ca/ecocentres.