Jean Marc D’Entremont, owner of Ecoplast Solutions, stands in front of one of his custom-built sheds assembled with structural insulated panels made with a core material of 100 per cent recycled plastic bottles.
Original article by Geoff Lee, Meridian Source
www.meridiansource.ca/green-buildings-come-in-a-bottle
There’s a new manufacturer in Lloydminster using recycled plastic bottles as a building block for a greener construction industry in Western Canada.
Ecoplast Solutions makes customized structural insulated panels with a core foam material of 100 per cent recycled plastic bottles that are bonded to fibreglass skins.
Company owner, Jean Marc D’Entremont, says the composite panels are ideal for residential and commercial construction, or any standing structure that needs to be solid.
“We’re putting out different designs that can’t really be attained by standard construction,” he said.
The innovative panels are a new application for high-quality polyethylene terephthalate (PET) made from plastic bottles.
The PET foam panels produce a building system that is extremely strong, energy-efficient and cost-effective, and can create different architectural shapes by thermal-forming.
“With our composite technology, you can achieve those exclusive demands a lot easier and (they) are more feasible as far as designs for rooftop decks and other neat things go,” said D’Entremont.
“We’re kind of pushing that to the customer to make sure they can see what they can have with our product. We think our product is a good market fit.”
The company opened its manufacturing facility at 4604-62 Ave, last summer with the hottest product to date being ice fishing shacks.
The demand is also building for their C-Cans and utility sheds with housing being the ultimate purpose.
“With any start-up, it takes a while to get your name out, but we’re looking at building three or four houses or cabins this summer, so that will be a pretty good project for us,” said D’Entremont.
The recycling aspect of the business is also attracting attention to the company.
“We’re putting these bottles that would just be going into landfills or the oceans to something that benefits the environment and the consumer,” said D’Entremont.
There are about 52,000 recycled bottles in the panels of the company’s new rental cooler trailers for the restaurant market, and many more in their mainstream building panels.
“People are super interested in the green piece. Anything to do with recycling, people just want to do better for the environment, so I think people really respect our concept,” said Ecoplast’s public relations manager Rikkea Rogers.
The foam panel material itself is also 100 per cent recyclable to add to its green niche.
“Once they see the benefits of the product, it’s pretty eye-opening for some people,” said Rogers.
The panelled mobile coolers, for example, are proving to be business-savers for restaurant owners when their refrigeration systems break down.
“In Edmonton, they are really hard to rent because they are in high demand,” said Rogers.
The PET panels for construction are touted to be about 25 per cent more efficient than conventional composite sandwiches because there are no thermal breaks.
“There are no studs, so you don’t lose any energy,” said D’Entremont, adding they also eliminate the need for insulation and a vapour barrier to save time and money.
“With our product, you don’t need to put any shingles on the roof,” he said.
An Ecoplast crew can quickly assembly panels for a house using a unique bonding process.
The panels also provide superior integrity that allows the building to be lifted and moved with a crane.
Ecoplast acquired the distribution rights to the panels in Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia from Armacell, a leading manufacturer of PET foams for the composite industry.
They are also partners with JD Composites, a sister company in Nova Scotia making similar products.
D’Entremont was a former oil patch employee who launched Ecoplast as an employment opportunity during the downturn.
“I knew one of the founders back east and just figured it was a pretty neat idea and quite forward-thinking and was something we could start out here,” he said.
Ecoplast offers product pick up and delivery and currently employs nine people including D’Entremont.