Ever wonder what happens to your blue-box
plastic? At Feversham, Grey County–based Ice
River Springs, a surplus of ingenuity (and recycled
plastic) shows that our blue-box contents can have
a new life. The staggering amount of plastic in the
world todayunderlines the critical importanceof an
effective recycling program. SustainabilityManager
CrystalGott explains IceRiver Springs’ vision:
“Ourwaterbottles are100% recycledPET (RPET).
WepurchaseOntarioblueboxPETplastic from the
local material recovery facilities (MRF’s), produce
ourownRPET flake inShelburneatBlueMountain
Plastics, anduse this flake toproduceourown food-
grade resin in the Ice River Springs Feversham
facility. This cycle allows us to utilize existing PET
bottles again and again insteadof usingnewplastic.
Theprocess ofmanufacturingRPET in comparison
to virginPET results in a 78% reduction in energy
use, 78% reduction in greenhouse gases, and no
natural gas or diesel consumption as a rawmaterial.
BUSINESSMODEL
Wehavealwaysoperatedusingasustainablebusiness
model because our business is basedupon a natural
resource.Growingup in this areaprovides youwith
anappreciation foranythinggreen;mygrandparents
operated a fish farm in Feversham for 30 years that
relied on the Beaver River to provide fresh, clean
water. For this reason, we have always looked for
ways to reduce our impact, encourage others to do
their part, and leave things better than they were
when we started. We purchased a TetraPak line a
few years ago, but founddifficulties in recycling the
package inOntario.That’swhat ledus toRPET.We
were told at the time that it wouldbe impossible to
make a 100 percent recycled PET bottle, but after
threeyearsofperseveranceand slowly increasingour
recycled content in the bottle our team finally got
it! Wehavenowmasteredbottle-to-bottle recycling,
themost efficient type.
FROMBOXTOBOTTLE,
ANDBEYOND
Within the bales of PET that we purchase from the
MRF’s we also getmany other types of plastics that
are not as easily recycled; it’s nearly impossible to
perfectly sort the blue box materials. Rather than
sending these other materials back to landfill, we
havemade it ourmission to findways to use them.
We began by using the green plastic soda bottles
that were previously down-cycled and developed
our Ice River Green brand of water to make use
of the green plastic. If you ever see a green water
bottle in the grocery store it’s definitely Ice River
Springs. Secondly, we invested in CRP Products
who manufacture outdoor furniture from recycled
HDPE plastic. Canadian Tire’s line of Captiva
chairs come from our CRP facility in Stratford,
Ontario and aremanufactured from caps recovered
fromour sorting line inShelburne. Sonext timeyou
go to put an empty bottle in your blue box, make
sure the cap is secure so that it too canbe recycled.
We are constantly working on ways to maximize
recycling of the Ontario blue-box materials, with
excitingnewplans in theworks.
MISCONCEPTIONS
There is a common misconception that the water
in Feversham goes all over North America, when
in fact it stays in the region. We operate 12 water
facilities acrossNorthAmerica, eachwith their own
water sources that provide localized distribution.
This also drastically reduces the greenhouse gas
emissions from transportation.
PERSPECTIVE
The total volume of water permitted to Ontario
bottledwater companies is the same amount as 10
golf courses, and there are 802 golf courses in the
province. (Source:CBWA.)Bottledwater companies
do not alter the water, and through human
consumption, it remains part of thewater cycle.
As part of our environmental initiatives, we also
operate Osprey Organics. Our family farms 2500
acres in Grey County without the use of GMO’s,
pesticides, herbicides or synthetic fertilizers. We
grow grains, forage crops and produce organic
maple syrup.
PERFECTINGTHELOOP
Canada has higher recycling rates than the United
States but there is always room for improvement.
With theuseof socialmediaand educationwehope
to encourage more recycling. These bottles can be
recycled again and again and we feel if consumers
knowaboutouruniqueclosed-loop recycling system
inOntario, they will be more likely to recycle.We
encourage schools and clubs to visit our Shelburne
facility to see the process as well as encouraging
members of our team to educate their communities
and families.
Our 12 water bottling facilities are all zero waste
to landfill, meaning nothing is wasted and sent to
landfill. Throughout this process I have developed
a strong appreciation for the recycling program in
Ontario.We are very lucky to have a systemwhere
all we have to do is get the recyclables to the curb
and the municipalities will handle it from there.
Manyof our facilities are not based in communities
like ours and had to struggle to find resources to
help themmanage their recyclables.
As a company, we feel there’s enough plastic in the
world–we just need to findways to reuse it.”
“As a company,we feel there’s
enoughplastic in theworld—we
just need to findways to reuse it.”
SPECIALADVERTISINGSECTION
YourBlueBox inAction
IceRiverSprings’ industry-leadingrecycling program
