Operation Clean Sweep catching on in Canada

Operation Clean Sweep appears to be taking off in Canada.

In the past nine months, several dozen Canadian plastics processing companies have signed onto Operation Clean Sweep (OCS), a U.S.-developed series of rules for pellet containment.  

Introduced in Canada in July 2011, OCS is one of the initiatives of the North American Plastics Alliance (NAPA), an organization comprised of the Canadian Plastics Industry Association (CPIA), SPI: The Plastics Industry Trade Association (SPI), and the Plastics Division of the American Chemistry Council (ACC).

SPI launched OCS in 1992 and now partners with ACC and CPIA to help every plastic resin handling operation implement what the Toronto-based CPIA describes as “good housekeeping and pellet containment practices that result in zero pellet loss as well as keep the environment clean and save resources.” All registrants at the NPE2012 trade show in Orlando, Fla., are getting an OCS pledge form, and the three organizations are working together to promote participation throughout the NPE trade show.

“Pellet containment efforts have increased six fold with new Canadian manufacturers participating in the program,” the CPIA said. “The three organizations are also holding joint webinars to promote the program throughout North America.”

OCS is one of several NAPA initiatives that appear to be picking up steam, both at NPE and beyond. In the area of energy conservation and plastics recovery, NPE show-organizer SPI is working towards 100 per cent diversion at the four-day event, including the demonstrative step of grinding some bottles on the show floor. According to the CPIA, meanwhile, it “has made significant progress on post-use and expects doubling of the number of tons processed marking significant progress with municipalities across Canada.”

The three NAPA member groups also continue to work together to promote and protect North American manufacturing jobs by educating policy makers at all levels of government about the benefits of plastics. “SPI is leading the allied industry coalition to protect funding for FDA’s Food Contact Notification program, which drives innovative new technologies, accelerates time to market and reduces regulatory burdens for North American,” the CPIA said.