Why this is important to Wisconsin businesses: Opportunities for Wisconsin companies

Given the power of recycling to reduce greenhouse gases and energy usage and divert material from landfills, provinces and municipalities across Canada such as the cities of Toronto and Vancouver have developed long-term strategies for reducing waste and minimizing the amount sent to landfills with the ambitious goal of becoming zero-waste communities.

Canadian recyclers process between 16 and 18 million metric tons of scrap metal each year, accounting for a significant portion of Canada’s recycling industry. Plastics and electronics recycling is a growing segment within the industry, partly because of the increasing amount of plastic packaging being collected for recycling. In total, more than 700 million pounds of post-consumer plastic was collected in Canada for recycling. Electronic waste (e-waste) across Canada has meanwhile nearly tripled in four years, with over 71,000 metric tons of e-waste diverted from landfills in 2012. Along with the desire for the industry to “go green,” it is expected that the recycling industry will continue to grow, and valuable materials and resources can be recaptured and repurposed for manufacturers.

The recycling industry continues to seek new opportunities, whether it be extending the life of materials, achieving savings and improving productivity of recycling equipment through new processes and technologies, or reducing the amount of waste sent to landfills.