Earlier this year, ELV revealed that bumpers could, in fact, be recycled properly and although some auto recycling plants don’t have the technology to deal with them, one plant has taken on the challenge and created an entire bumper empire.
Nearly 10,000 old bumpers are stacked up at Burnaby Now recycling plant. Before China announced they would no longer accept overseas shipments of plastics to be recycled, Burnaby would ship their bumper parts there.
But feeling that it wouldn’t be right to send their plastics overseas to a different location, the Vancouver-based plant has decided to deal with it all on their own.
Earlier this year, ELV revealed that bumpers could, in fact, be recycled properly and although some auto recycling plants don’t have the technology to deal with them, one plant has taken on the challenge and created an entire bumper empire.
Nearly 10,000 old bumpers are stacked up at Burnaby Now recycling plant. Before China announced they would no longer accept overseas shipments of plastics to be recycled, Burnaby would ship their bumper parts there.
But feeling that it wouldn’t be right to send their plastics overseas to a different location, the Vancouver-based plant has decided to deal with it all on their own.
“We recently purchased a new lot where we plan to expand our recycling operation,” co-owner of the plant Bash Jamal told Global News. “We want to expand into other plastics. We think there is a real need to keep this recycling thing going.”
The company invested in a granulator and have been selling the raw materials to companies all across North America. Not only has the granulator expanded their revenue, but their entire business operations and now the plant plans to expand onto other recyclable materials.
“We saw a lot of promise in the material…there will be a lot of use for it in the market,” stated Meagan Marko, product line manager at Noble Polymers who had a heavy involvement in ELV’S research.
“By developing lasting, sustainable end markets for these materials, even those extracted from scrap cars and trucks, this is giving scrap materials a new life through recycling,” added Patty Long, the interim CEO of the US-based Plastics Industry Association.
For more information on Burnaby’s innovative recycling tactics, visit their site at bumpernow.com