CPRA Improves Efficiencies, Looking for New Markets
Canadian Plastics
The Canadian Polystyrene Recycling Association (CPRA) has doubled the volume of its product sales over the last three years but is not about to start patting itself on the back."We're 95 percent of th...
The Canadian Polystyrene Recycling Association (CPRA) has doubled the volume of its product sales over the last three years but is not about to start patting itself on the back.
“We’re 95 percent of the way there but we know there’s still work to do,” says CPRA president John Roulston. “We want to grow the business another 30 to 40 percent over the next few years.”
Roulston says that CPRA’s main markets are currently Eastern Canada and the Northeastern U.S. Approximately half of the recycled polystyrene sold by CPRA goes into horticultural planter trays. The bulk of the remainder is used in a variety of injection molded products such as office desk accessories, hardware, snow brushes and other applications.
Roulston says the days of finding customers willing to pay a premium for re-processed material are over, and this has compelled the association to adopt a more aggressive business philosophy.
“We’ve gone from being an industry association selling recycled scrap which was being marketed through its member companies to a market-driven business out to satisfy the requirements of our customers,” notes Roulston.
