Promenade Digs Deep for Recycling
Getting a shopping centre to zero waste can be a daunting proposition, a process that’s rarely glamorous. Promenade Shopping Centre has taken a big step toward that goal recently by working with the Canadian Plastics Industry Association (CPIA) to divert one frustratingly stubborn type of waste: polyethylene (PE) flexible film.
That’s one of the materials you (or your center’s retailers) tend to find in clothing bags that are used to ship to store, in pallet or stretch wrap, air pillows and retail bags. It doesn’t fit into a lot of common recycling schemes. When Promenade looked over its current recycling and organics problem, the center found that having done a good job of dealing with paper, containers, food waste and the like, these particular plastics were starting to stand out.
“Within the remaining waste stream, it was very apparent that there are large volumes of PE flexible film that could be recovered for recycling. This opportunity made it easy to work with the CPIA and take the next recycling step,” said Liem Vu, General Manager, Promenade.
Promenade makes an interesting case study for the CPIA. “Our goal is to educate and engage commercial centres to inform them on the value of recycling PE flexible film and we are pleased to have joined efforts with Promenade in our latest project” said Carol Hochu, President and CEO of the CPIA.
Working with the Plastic Film Manufacturers Association of Canada, the organization has contracted Summerhill to come up with a solution for Promenade and prepare a further case study so other shopping centers can learn from their efforts. The organization believes that a successful pilot project like this might encourage more centers to add PE flexible film to their recycling project, thus making the world a little better for all of us.
