Canada Fibers commissions plastics recycling plant

Canada Fibers Ltd., Toronto, has commissioned a 160,000-square-foot plastics recycling plant in North Toronto, Ontario, called Urban Polymers. The new venture will focus on creating a pure, homogeneous plastic materials from postconsumer and postindustrial plastic scrap using equipment and additive formulations sourced globally.

Canada Fibers says that during its initial phases of development Urban Polymers will focus on producing polyethylene terephthalate (PET) flake material, as well as producing compounded polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) in pellet form.

Urban Polymers also says that it is configuring its operations to provide unrivaled purity and consistency for plastic processing customers. Further, the company says it plans on distinguishing itself through advanced custom compounding of PP and PE materials. The facility will be able to process 25 million pounds per year of PET and 11 million pounds per year of PP/PE during its initial phases of development, according to Canada Fibers.

“We simply aim to provide plastics processors with a sustainable complement to prime materials,” says Mark Badger who is leading Urban Polymers.

Badger, formerly CEO of the Canadian Plastics Industry Association, adds that Urban Polymers has “assembled an experienced technical team who are targeting industry segments not yet penetrated in North America.”

“Urban Polymers represents another step with Canada Fiber’s forward integration strategy,” says Joe Miranda, CEO of Canada Fibers. “Forward integration will help recovered solid waste remain domestic, providing an edge for industrial customers in North America.”

Canada Fibers was established almost 25 years ago as a Toronto-based paper recovery and marketing operation. Since then, operational scope has broadened to include recovery, separation and marketing of a wide variety of recovered materials, comprising plastic, glass, aluminum, paper and metal. Today, Canada Fibers’ supply side customers include Ontario municipalities as well as institutional, commercial and industrial organizations.