POLY

Enactus University of Ottawa

Every year, plastic production and disposal emits 850 million tonnes of greenhouse gasses. By 2030, Canada is expected to use more than six million tonnes of plastic annually. Out of all the plastic produced globally, only 9% of it ever gets recycled and over 30% of all recycling ends up in the landfill due to contaminants.

By scaling down the technology and processes found in large recycling plants, the team at Enactus University of Ottawa created POLY –an initiative designed to empower their community and put the power of recycling in their hands.

Developed in partnership with industry experts, Enactus University of Ottawa created a small-scale recycling system that shreds down plastic into small pieces, melts them and shapes them into new products.

Each POLY system can divert up to 1.5 million water bottles annually while using 99% less oil, 83% less CO2, and 97% less water when compared to the production of virgin plastic.

Plastic is collected via plastic drives, community events, or corporate partnerships, then cleaned, sorted and passed through the POLY system. Once through the system, recycled products, ranging from jewelry and tiles to even phone cases, are produced.

POLY operators are individuals and community groups who want to take action. The Enactus University of Ottawa team supports operators by securing government grants or business loans to fund their systems.