Photo courtesy of Freedom Mobile Arch
The Construction Plastics Initiative (CPI) of the Vancouver-based not-for-profit organization Light House has set up a recycling collection and reprocessing system for discarded plastic generated at two construction projects in the Vancouver region.
CPI efforts will be undertaken at the construction site of the Freedom Mobile Arch in Vancouver and the Steveston Community Centre in nearby Richmond, British Columbia.
Light House, which launched the CPI last year, says it will work in cooperation with general contractor EllisDon Corp. at the Freedom Mobile Arch and with general contractor Scott Construction at the community center.
Plastic scrap collected from CPI projects is reprocessed by a firm called Langley Plastics into what Light House calls reusable plastic pellets used to make building products.
“For all construction projects involved in our Construction Plastics Initiative, all plastics that arrive on site are kept separate from other construction materials and then sent to a plastics processor where they are extruded into a plastic pellet,” says Gil Yaron, managing director of the CPI program.
Continues Yaron, “The pellet is then sold to [Delta, British Columbia-based] Plascon Plastics, who blends the pellets in with other resins to manufacture innovative building products like InfinaNet by Infina Technologies Inc. [also based in Delta]”
Light House describes InfinaNet as a concrete void system that displaces concrete in multi-unit residential slab floors, reducing the amount of concrete required.
The not-for-profit group says CPI involvement not only helps contractors reduce material use and embodied carbon but also prepares participating contractors for an upcoming Canadian government plastics registry reporting requirement in 2026.
"Partnering with the Construction Plastics Initiative on our Freedom Mobile Arch project is just one way we’re ensuring that sustainable practices persist at the heart of both our core values as well as the venue's redevelopment,” says Daniel Molnar, British Columbia regional environmental manager with EllisDon.
“After products, [such as] much of the wood for the timber arch, are manufactured, they’re typically wrapped in protective plastic packaging before delivery to the construction site, and that plastic wrap then ends up in landfills,” says Molnar.
“Through the support of this initiative, we’re able to shake up that process, and strive to demonstrate the feasibility of circular economics in the construction environment, to help make positive changes in the ways we build, moving forward.”
The Freedom Mobile Arch has been planned as an event venue that will be managed by the not-for-profit Pacific National Exhibition (PNE) organization.
"Once completed, the Freedom Mobile Arch will become a world-class venue, hosting our Summer Night Concerts as well as a wide range of local, national and international music, arts and cultural events,” says Ming Tian, a vice president with PNE
At the other CPI project site, Scott Construction has joined the initiative as it serves as the lead contractor for the Steveston Community Centre and Library in Richmond.
“This is an initiative we’re proud to participate in, especially because it allows us to bring sustainable building practices to the forefront,” says Trenton Berger of Scott Construction.
Sponsored Content
Still relying on manual sorters?
Let AI do the heavy lifting. Waste Robotics delivers reliable, high-performance robots tailored for complex waste streams. They require minimal maintenance, are easy to operate, and are designed to boost your recovery rates. Smarter sorting starts with the right partner. Waste Expo Booth #1969 & REMA #2843
Click here to see our robots in action!
Sponsored Content
Still relying on manual sorters?
Let AI do the heavy lifting. Waste Robotics delivers reliable, high-performance robots tailored for complex waste streams. They require minimal maintenance, are easy to operate, and are designed to boost your recovery rates. Smarter sorting starts with the right partner. Waste Expo Booth #1969 & REMA #2843
Click here to see our robots in action!
Sponsored Content
Still relying on manual sorters?
Let AI do the heavy lifting. Waste Robotics delivers reliable, high-performance robots tailored for complex waste streams. They require minimal maintenance, are easy to operate, and are designed to boost your recovery rates. Smarter sorting starts with the right partner. Waste Expo Booth #1969 & REMA #2843
Click here to see our robots in action!
Sponsored Content
Still relying on manual sorters?
Let AI do the heavy lifting. Waste Robotics delivers reliable, high-performance robots tailored for complex waste streams. They require minimal maintenance, are easy to operate, and are designed to boost your recovery rates. Smarter sorting starts with the right partner. Waste Expo Booth #1969 & REMA #2843
Click here to see our robots in action!
Sponsored Content
Still relying on manual sorters?
Let AI do the heavy lifting. Waste Robotics delivers reliable, high-performance robots tailored for complex waste streams. They require minimal maintenance, are easy to operate, and are designed to boost your recovery rates. Smarter sorting starts with the right partner. Waste Expo Booth #1969 & REMA #2843
Click here to see our robots in action!“Through our partnership with the Construction Plastics Initiative, we’re ensuring that we’re diverting and upcycling plastic construction [scrap] that is generated in the development of the Steveston Community Centre, helping to reduce, divert and upcycle plastic in construction,” he continues. “This is an important step in responsible construction practices, where keeping materials recirculating in the economy is integral to how we build.”
Construction of the 60,350-square-foot community center and library is underway, with completion expected in 2026. Host city Richmond has a Circular City Strategy, with a stated aim to make buildings there “more sustainable by implementing innovative products and technologies to enable maximum material reuse and longer building life and keep materials at their highest intrinsic value.”
Light House says its Construction Plastics Initiative is scheduled to run through February of next year, and that it is seeking industrial, commercial, institutional and multi-unit residential building projects with property owners or contractors who wish to participate.
Get curated news on YOUR industry.
Enter your email to receive our newsletters.
