New recycling process in Québec for juice boxes and milk cartons

At the end of October, 2010 a cutting edge recycling line was launched at Groupe RCM’s recycling facility in Québec. Groupe RCM is a non-profit corporation whose mission is to create jobs for people with physical or cognitive limitations, through the recovery and reclamation of recyclable domestic and industrial waste.

The launch is the end result of a three-year development and represents a $3.5 million investment, spearheaded by Tetra Pak as part of its national recycling plan. Tetra Pak and its corporate partners A. Lassonde Inc., and Natrel, along with the Québec government and Recyc-Québec, collectively provided Groupe RCM with $1 million in seed capital.

The new recycling process, the first of its kind in the world, according to Groupe RCM, breaks down carton, plastic bag and film waste into a thermoplastic resin which can be used in industrial and commercial manufacturing. The newly launched line accepts all gable top and aseptic cartons, as well as plastic shopping bags and cellophane films from sorting centres in Québec.

The technology includes a thermokinetic process that uses high-speed knives to homogenize disparate waste materials into plastic granules that can later be used for making a wide variety of plastic products.

“Launching this new line of multilayer container and plastic bag processing has allowed us to fulfill a specific need in Quebec’s recycling industry,” said Mrs. Ginette Bureau, CEO of RECYC-QUÉBEC. “This technological breakthrough has also made it possible for RECYC-QUÉBEC to complete various other projects, including the Recyclable Bag Certification Program and the Separate Collection Chart of Recyclable Materials, which encourages municipalities to include multilayer containers and plastic bags in their separate collection.”