Mar 4 2011
Closed-loop, 100% recycled plastic water bottles made from self-manufactured resin has arrived.
Ice River Springs, a bottled water company headquartered in Feversham, Ontario, has converted an industrial building in Shelburne, Ontario into a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) recycling plant. Ice River Springs is the first bottled water company in North America to self-manufacture its own resin and produce plastic water bottles made of 100% recycled plastic. The equipment used in the plant produces clean PET flake and then purifies the material to food-grade resin approved by Health Canada and the FDA.
"Our trucks deliver our great tasting water in 100% recycled PET to the store, but then return to our plant with plastic to be recycled, closing the loop. Our company's vision is to be the leading environmental beverage company in North America," says Ice River Springs CEO, Jamie Gott.
What's exciting about the new facility, operating as Blue Mountain Plastics, is the number of environmental benefits that ripple outward from it. For example, the bottle-to-bottle recycling process uses 6 times less energy than it takes to produce virgin PET. In addition, the plant will reduce consumption of fuel formerly required to bring PET from other locations. "We are proud to have Ice River Springs in our community, as they are world leaders in recycling and sustainable business practices," commented Ed Crewson, Mayor of Shelburne.
"The vision and support of Stewardship Ontario was instrumental in making self-manufactured bottle-to-bottle recycling happen," says Sandy Gott, co-owner, Ice River Springs. "The response from retailers has been very positive, and we've heard from consumers that they will be more diligent about recycling now that they know we have created a closed-loop system in Ontario."
"With the leadership of companies like Ice River Springs, we're building a world class recycling infrastructure right here in Ontario," stated Lyle Clarke, Vice-President, Innovation and Blue Box, Stewardship Ontario. "This operation is the first of its kind in North America to self-manufacture its own resin, and is proof positive of how Ontario's renowned Blue Box program helps to build our 'green economy.' We're grateful that Ontario consumers continue to embrace convenient and effective Blue Box recycling."
Source: http://www.iceriversprings.ca/