The Benefits of
Plastics to the
Economy of Ontario
Presentation
Cathy Cirko, VP Environment & Plastics
Environment and Plastics Industry Council (EPIC)
A Council of the Canadian Plastics Industry Association
August 2008
1
What is CPIA?
Association for the entire plastics value
chain
¾
¾
¾
¾
¾
Resin production
Compounding
Processing
Mould Making
Machinery
EPIC Leads the Industry’s Environment,
Health & Safety Initiatives
2
1
Presentation Focus
• To demonstrate the size and value of the plastics
industry and its contribution to Canada’s economy &
sustainability
• To explain what we are doing to help manage plastics at
their end of life
• To suggest how we can work together to grow the
Ontario Economy in an environmentally & economically
sustainable way
3
$34.2 Billion Value Chain,
with largest portion in Ontario
48% of
firms in
Ontario
TDM, 1.4
56% of jobs
in Ontario
25% of
output is
exported
Resin, 9.7
Machinery, 1.9
Processors,
22.2
Sources: Industry
Canada; Statistics
Canada; CPIA
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2
Industry Overview in Ontario
• Plastics industry employs 55,000 people in the
processing sector alone
• More than 1,200 companies
• Plastics presently rank fifth in terms of Ontario exports
• Traditionally grows twice as fast as other
manufacturing businesses and the general economy
5
Most Ontario Provincial Ridings Have Direct
Plastics Jobs
(Not All in the GTA) Examples are:
Barrie
Brant
Cambridge
Elgin, Middlesex, London
Glengary, Prescott, Russell
Huron Bruce
Kitchen Waterloo
Leeds Grenville
Northumberland Quinte
Stormont Dundas
1,090
925
1,155
465
370
525
1,400
280
1,705
510
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3
Plastics Manufacturing Goes
Well Beyond the Auto Sector
Electrical &
Electronic
5%
Other
12%
Construction
26%
Furniture
5%
Transport
18%
Packaging
34%
7
Plastics Manufacturing Uses Only 4% of Canada’s
Annual Consumption of Oil and Gas
Source: CPSC
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4
World Class Technology
• The plastics industry in Ontario is a world
leader, employing cutting edge
technologies to manufacture plastics
– that increase energy efficiency and cut GHG
emissions in various applications
• Smart Packaging – technological
innovation and investment has
transformed the industry (e.g. food safety,
environmental protection)
9
Where are plastics used?
Plastic Storm, Water
and Sewer Pipe
• Resists external &
internal corrosion
• Strong & flexible- fewer
cracks and breaks
• Increases hydraulic
capacity
Storm Pipe
Water
Pipe
Sanitary
Sewer Pipe
10
5
Consider the alternatives
Halton
Region's
Planning &
Public Works
Commissioner,
Brent
Marshall,
demonstrates
the difference
between new
PVC pipes &
the old rustclogged pipes
they replaced
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Plastic Water Pipes
A University of Toronto
study says that Canada
could achieve 10% of its
Kyoto targets by replacing
all the old water pipes with
plastic pipes
Water
Pipe
More energy is required to
pump water through leaky
and partially blocked old
iron pipes, thereby
contributing to GHG
emissions
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6
Plastic Exterior Foam Insulation
& Plastic Housewrap
• Reduces penetration of dust,
pollen, and other airborne
pollutants
• Reduces moisture infiltration
• Reduces heating & cooling
costs up to 50%
13
Plastic Exterior Foam Insulation
If all houses in Canada,
used plastic exterior
foam insulation, GHG
emissions would be
reduced by 3 million
tonnes per year
3 million tonnes of GHG
reduced is equivalent to
taking 700,000 vehicles
off the road each year
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7
Reduced Heat Loss with Plastic Foam
Exterior Insulation
OSB and R-13 batt insulation
Same house with 1/2 inch plastic rigid
sheathing insulation added
15
If all the houses
build between
1981 and 1995
had used building
wrap, GHG
emissions would
have been
reduced by 12 to
60 million tonnes
$1.6 billion to $8
billion dollars
would have been
saved in fuel
costs
Building Wrap
35 litres of
fuel make
enough
building wrap
for 1,800 sq.
ft. house
Save 1250
litres of
heating
fuel/per year
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8
Insulated Concrete
Forms
4” forma insulation plus 5” of
concrete rates above R-17
Air barriers and high thermal mass
buffer against extreme outdoor
temperatures
Plastic Sealants
Spray foam sealants expand and fill
energy wasting gaps around windows,
pipes & outlets
Prevents air infiltration
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Plastic Tubing & Pipe
• Enhances the efficiency of central
vacuum and air filtration systems
(R2000 homes)
– Tubing is flexible making it easy and
quick to install
– Energy efficient by reducing energy
needed to circulate heated air (rising
air vs forced air)
• Plastic tubing in sub floor radiant
heating systems
Plastic Window Frames
•
•
•
High thermal efficiency
Weather resistant
Protects frames from cracking, pitting,
peeling & chalking
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9
Plastic Roofing Systems
• Reduces heating &
cooling costs
• Inherently fire-resistant
• Water resistant
• Easy to install & flexible
in design
Foam Plastic Roof
Insulation & Membranes
• High R-value
• Resists water absorption
• Extends life of low-slope
roofs
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Green Roofs Rigid Plastic Insulation
• Reduces heating
& cooling costs
• Lightweight
• Water resistant
• Minimizes
moisture
intrusion
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10
Plastics in Vehicles Reduce Fuel Use
Over the lifetime of the
14 million passenger
vehicles in Canada
(150,000km per
vehicle) the weight
reduction achieved
through the use of
plastics at 10% of
vehicle weight saves
3.3 billion litres of fuel
In terms of energy, this
is equivalent to
electricity used for 3.3
million homes annually
21
Plastics Packaging
• Packaging is being influenced by fundamental changes
in society and by global issues
• Industry has responded through technical &
sophisticated innovations in packaging
• Factors influencing packaging are:
–
–
–
–
Changing demographics
Increased concern over health & safety
Need for extended shelf life
Ability to deliver products in the most resource efficient and cost
effective manner
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11
The Size of Canada’s Households is
Decreasing
1961
Population
Households
Average
Persons/HHLD
1981
2001
18,238,24
7
4,554,736
24,343,181
30,007,095
8,281,531
11,562,975
4.0
2.9
2.6
23
Smaller Households Generate
More Packaging Per Person
United Kingdom
(packaging/yr/person)1
Netherlands
(packaging/yr/person)2
KG
KG
1 person HHLD
120
140
2 person HHLD
90
110
3 person HHLD
70
80
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12
One & Two Person Households Generate
Almost 50% of Packaging
2001
HHLDs
%
No. of
HHLDS
Total
Population
Packaging
Generation1
(kg/capita/yr)
Total
Packaging
(tonnes)
1-2
person
58%
6,749,305 10,521,735
105
1,104,782
>3
person
42%
4,813,675 19,005,565
70
1,330,040
Total
100% 11,562,980 29,527,300
2,434,822
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Packaging is Needed for Health & Safety
• Food shipped around the world requires
technical packaging to provide extended shelf
life:
– Atmosphere controlled packaging reduces oxygen
coming in contact with food
– Plastic flexible films are designed with up to seven
different types of plastic to keep oxygen out
preventing the occurrence of salmonella and E. coli
– Flexible films, used to cover ready made meals, can
detect the possible presence of bacteria in the food
underneath & generate a warning sign directly on the
package
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13
Packaging is Needed for Health & Safety
• There are serious threats of bio-terrorism
& the industry has responded with variety
of tamper evident devices
• Because of rapid transmission of air borne
viruses and bacteria, fresh food used to be
sold and handled by the consumer but
now is packaged
27
Plastics Packaging
Helps to Conserve Natural Resources
GLASS JARS
36% IS
PACKAGING
PLASTIC
POUCHES
3.56%
IS PACKAGING
Without plastics, retailers’ fleets would make
50% more journeys
28
14
Plastic Packaging Conserves
Resources & Reduces Emissions
• A study in Europe found that without
plastic packaging:
– Tonnage of packaging would increase by a
factor of 4
– Emissions of GHG by factor of 2
– Costs by factor of 2
– Waste by factor of 1.6
– Energy usage by factor of 1.5
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PLASTICS PACKAGING REDUCES
ENERGY USAGE BY 582.6 MILLION GJ
Ultra large crude oil tanker
German Study - 582.6 Mill GJ/a is equivalent
“Jahre
Viking”
carry
to 101.3 million
barrelscan
of crude
oil enough to
fill
53
ultra
large
crude
oil
tankers
137 Mill litres of crudelined
oil up for
24 km
…
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Source: GUA
15
EPIC is Working to Increase the
Recycling of Plastics
• EPIC has been an active partner with municipalities
on recycling plastics packaging since the 1980’s
• Worked with municipalities to expand the
infrastructure for recycling of plastics packagingbottles, tubs, film, PS
• Made improvements in processes and markets for
recycled plastics
• Developed many best practices, communication and
education materials
31
Vinyl Siding Can Be Recycled
32
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Plastic Pipe Can Be Recycled
PVC ELECTRICAL CONDUIT &
ELECTRICAL DUCT
PVC WATERMAIN &
FORCEMAIN-PVC SEWER
POLY GASMAIN-POLY UTILITYPOLY SEWER
33
Hay Bale Wrap Can Be
Recycled
• EPIC’s Best Practices Guide is
available free-of-charge from the
EPIC web site.
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17
80% of Plastics Packaging is Potentially
Recyclable
Plastic packaging is estimated at 10% of the household
waste & composed of:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Plastic bottles (PET & HDPE)
PE film packaging (empty bags & overwrap)
Flexible film laminates (one or more layers)
Polystyrene (foam & hard)
Other packaging (assorted)
Tubs and lids (e.g. wide mouth PP & HDPE)
PET rigids (e.g. clamshells, trays)
Other bottles
Large pails and lids (>4L, <25 L)
33%
22%
12%
10%
9%
6%
3%
3%
2%
100%
35
Markets Exist for Plastic Packaging
36
18
To What Extent Is Plastic Packaging
Being Recycled?
• Estimates are around 22%
• Yet markets exist for 80% of the plastics
• Not all municipalities collect these plastics
• Even with access, resident participation is
weak
37
What Needs to be Done to Increase
Recycling of Plastics?
•
Encourage residents to use their recycling systems
instead of putting plastics into the waste bin
•
Expand curbside collection systems to include a
broader range of plastics
•
Ensure materials Recovery Facilities (MRF) built/or
modernized in Ontario have the capability to sort a
broader mix of plastic packaging into marketable
streams
38
19
What Needs to be Done to Increase
Recycling of Plastics?
•
After best diversion efforts, recover the energy from
plastic residues
•
Germany has a regulation that no materials containing
more than 5% carbon is landfilled
•
Plastic residues are energy rich and should be diverted
from landfill
39
Plastics Residues Are
Rich In Energy
• Materials
– Fuel Oil
– Plastics
• PE
• PP
• PS
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Coal
Rubber
Newspaper
Leather
Corrugated Boxes
Textiles
Wood
MSW
• Btu per Pound
– 20,900
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
19,900
19,850
17,800
11,500
10,900
8,000
7,200
7,000
6,900
6,700
4,650
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Celebrating Success
• Plastics represent a major economic driver based on
innovation and economic development
• Plastics industry has created good, well paying jobs for
Ontarians
• Light weight durable plastics carry huge environmental
benefits saving energy, resources, reducing GHG and
carbon footprint
• Recycling of plastics is vital to our success and industry
is committed to working in partnership with stakeholders
41
Worrisome Economic Signs
• Plastics sector in Ontario showing signs of weakening,
including job losses in numerous regional centres
• Key manufacturing states in the United States (e.g. New
York, Tennessee) aggressively courting Canadian
companies to relocate
• LCBO decision to move away from plastic bags sends a
negative message to industry, resulting in investment
“chill”
• Plastics have become something of an environmental
“whipping boy”; undeniable benefits of plastics ignored in
favour of often misplaced and unfounded criticism
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Help Enhance Ontario’s Plastic Industry
In an Environmentally & Economically
Sustainable Way
• By fostering recycling for all materials, including plastics
• By taking a “life-cycle perspective” of the benefits of
plastics when considering public policy
• By embracing Energy from Municipal Waste as part of
the solution
• Ontario needs our industry and we need
governments to be our champion & partner
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EPIC
5915 Airport Road, Suite 702
Mississauga, Ontario L4V 1T1
Phone 905-678-7748 ext 234
www.plastics.ca/epic
Cathy Cirko, Vice President Environment, Health & Safety
Phone extension 234
[email protected]
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