Fanshawe College serves the greater London region by providing flexible learning arrangements and experiential education opportunities developed in response to labour market needs.
As one of Ontario’s largest colleges—with campuses in London, Simcoe, St. Thomas and Woodstock—we offer more than 200 degree, diploma, certificate and apprenticeship programs, helping people unlock their potential and achieve success in a variety of disciplines including applied arts, business, health care, human services, hospitality and technology.
Project Summary
Fanshawe's St. Thomas/Elgin regional campus has launched a groundbreaking closed-loop plastic recycling program, aiming to address the issue of plastic waste by creating a system that shreds, melts and repurposes plastic into useful products.
The Challenge
Plastic waste is a significant environmental problem, with only about nine per cent of the three million tonnes of plastic discarded annually in Canada being recycled. This accumulation of plastic waste is not only an eyesore but also a persistent ecological threat. Fanshawe's St. Thomas/Elgin Regional Campus recognized the need to address this issue at a local level and sought a sustainable solution to manage plastic waste within their institution, setting an example for others to follow.
The Solution
With the support of a Fanshawe Research and Innovation Fund grant, Professor Jennifer Ewans and her team embarked on creating a closed-loop recycling system. The first step involved fabricating a shredder that converts ordinary plastic waste into small pellets. These pellets are then heated and injected into molds using an extruder to produce various products, ranging from toothbrushes to sustainable construction materials. Additionally, a sheet press designed by Western University will enable the creation of larger plastic products. The project is backed by a $50,000 grant and incorporates advanced testing to ensure the quality and environmental sustainability of the prototypes. When fully operational, Fanshawe will be the first Canadian post-secondary institution to manage its plastic waste internally, setting a blueprint for broader applications in other institutions and communities.
Did you know?
Three million tonnes of plastic is the equivalent of 22 football fields covered in plastic waste to a height of six storeys.
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