ACPD 2023 Program & Schedule
Date: Wednesday, March 15, 2023
Location: NAIT, Edmonton, AB
Productivity and Innovation Centre
10210 Princess Elizabeth Ave NW Edmonton

Return to Alberta Circular Plastics Day 2023 Overview

Schedule and Proceedings – See below for a list of presentations from ACPD 2023.

Sessions

Policy – On the Road – Where are We Now and What’s Up Ahead?

In this session we will hear from national and provincial government officials and industry on the next steps to develop policies around plastics management and organizations whose members and businesses are impacted by these policies. Alberta has just passed EPR legislation and has plans to advance the Natural Gas Strategy which will place the province as a leader in plastics recycling. On the national level, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) has released a series of legislation and plans for future policy in the areas of single-use plastic bans, recycled content requirements and a plastic registry for producers of plastic products. Groups like the Canada Plastics Pact (CPP) and Dow Canada work directly with government to navigate these policy decisions. Join this lively discussion as the panel talks about where we are now and what comes next in plastic policy.

 

Panel:

Barriers to a Circular Economy – Detours and Potholes

In the second session of the day, we have invited a group of experts to review and explain the most common barriers to the advancement of a circular economy.

Recyclers Tony Moucahen from Merlin Plastics and Kevin Kernaghan from Polycyle will talk about the technical challenges of processing material and securing reliable end markets for recycled content (PCR) while Ronald Kumar from Orion Plastics will share information about their success in using PCR in their St. Albert operation.

Anna Rajkovic from NOVA Chemicals will speak on the projects they have advanced around design for recyclability, and developing packaging that incorporates recycled content. Christa Seaman from the Chemistry Industry Association of Canada (CIAC) will discuss how their project has tried to tackle the barriers of investing in technology and innovation by de-risking those investments. The group will talk about these barriers and suggest some opportunities or solutions to explore as we forge ahead on the road to circularity.

 

Panel:

Innovation and Celebration in Alberta – Paving the Way to a Smooth Transition

Despite the barriers discussed in the second session, there are many examples of successful projects already taking place in the province and beyond. Each of these individuals has taken risks, pushed boundaries and asked “what is possible” for their stakeholders, customers and partners. This is a tremendous learning opportunity from a variety of non-profits, business people, investors, inventers and more!

*New Addition* 1:30-1:50 pm in the main conference hall: reciChain AB Pilot Panel Discussion:

The reciChain(TM) program is a technology-enabled ecosystem that brings together all the plastic value chain players to enable circularity, tracking and sorting of recycled plastic. By creating a consortium of stakeholders positioned along the value chain, the solution forces a move away from linear stakeholder engagement, where parties only communicate with their upstream or downstream partners, and instead encourages collaborative discussions. This will reduce barriers to communication, increase productivity, and encourage innovation.

The reciChain concept was created by BASF in Sao Paolo, Brazil and tested with an initial proof-of-concept pilot in 2020 in British Columbia, Canada, which proved circularity by tracking the products lifecycle from pellet to pellet.

Now, with the support of Alberta Innovates, the provincial government corporation responsible for promoting innovation in the province, the project landed in Alberta to conduct the next phase of the project, which will see the solution through to a semi-commercial phase.

Relevant players from the plastics value chain in Alberta, including BASF, Cascades, Layfield, London Drugs, Merlin Plastics, NOVA Chemicals, Orion Plastics, [Re] Waste and Waste & Recycling Services from the cities of Calgary and Edmonton, have joined forces in this phase of the reciChain program.

Presentation Deck (PDF)

Panelists:
  • Benjamin Plantz, BASF Management Consulting
  • Mehr Nikoo, Senior Manager, Clean Tech, Alberta Innovates
  • Paul Tas, Director Technical Services, NOVA Chemicals Corp.
  • Moderator: Lorena Lujan, Innovation and Strategic Partners Leader, BASF Canada

 

Breakout Presentations:

This session will take the form of breakout presentations. The room will be broken down based on the different presentation topics and in each area, each presenter will be given five minutes to share their updates and then a moderator will host small group discussion and questions for the remaining time (approx. 20 minutes total). Then conference delegates will rotate through the next presentation area. After delegates have been to three out of the four presentations (or an hour of discussion), the room will come back together for a final wrap up and discussion of the key takeaways.

Topic 1: Advancements in agricultural plastics circularity

These experts will share their success in agricultural plastics collection, recycling and remanufacturing – all within Alberta’s borders.

 

Topic 2: The future of advanced recycling

NOVA and Enerkem have a pilot program on advanced recycling. Join them as they share the updates on the program. Mehr from AB Innovates will share the organization’s contributions to the project and how they support circular economy initiatives across the industry.

 

Topic 3: Leading examples in plastics recycling

The recyclers in this session are pushing the boundaries on what is possible in the industry. Join the discussion to hear about their creativity, how they handle challenges and what’s coming up in their next ventures

 

Topic 4: Expanding the circle

The speakers in this session will discuss how they are enabling circularity across sectors including empowering municipalities and businesses across the plastics value chain.

NAIT Tour: Productivity and Innovation Centre (PIC)

The Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) and Inter Pipeline Ltd. have initiated a $10 million, ten-year research collaboration to advance the reuse and recycling of plastic in Canada and around the world. This Plastics Research in Action (PRIA) initiative funds innovative applied research projects, much of which occurs within our 190,000 square feet Productivity and Innovation Centre (PIC) that is located on the north side of Main Campus.

As home to much of NAIT’s applied research, PIC features solutions for business innovation – much of which relates to productivity:

  • Product testing
  • Technology adoption
  • Training and certifications
  • Productivity and innovation
  • Applied research
  • Industry conferences and events

We have numerous flexible workspaces that are adaptable in size and functionality, which gives our industry partners and clients a place to expand ideas and explore solutions. The A-wing of PIC is a 40,000 square foot space that houses wet labs, the analytical core, two microgrid controllers, and an advanced manufacturing core.

The building is designed to LEED Building and Construction certification standards, recognizing sustainability in design and construction. Solar panels installed above the glass canopy in the main foyer will generate 58 kilowatts of electricity per hour and will be used in distributed energy research.

Please join us for a tour during the Alberta Circular Plastics Day 2023 hosted by the Alberta Plastics Recycling Association (APRA) at PIC on March 15, 2023

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