New plastics recycling line kicks off in Quebec

An innovative new processing line is set to open at a Quebec recycling facility on October 27.

The processing line is operated by recycler Groupe RCM, a non-profit corporation whose mission is to create jobs for people with physical or cognitive limitations. The new line is part of a larger industry strategy designed to optimize end-of-life recycling management in Canada, and represents a total investment of $3.5 million, including contributions from private-sector manufacturers Tetra Pak Canada, A. Lassonde Inc., and Natrel, as well as the Quebec provincial corporation RECYC-QUÉBEC.

Groupe RCM’s new processing line uses a high-speed “thermokinetic” process that’s waste-free, and transforms all elements of aseptic cartons – such as caps and straws – as well as plastic bags and films, into low-density polyethylene granules that are suitable for a wide array of applications, including the manufacture of flower pots, railway ties and pallets. Groupe RCM plans to make the 100 per cent post-consumer resin available for sale throughout Canada and the U.S.

Over the next three years, Groupe RCM expects to reach a total yearly processing volume of 12,000 metric tons of waste, the equivalent more than 2,000 dump trucks worth of garbage.