The pellets are shipped to customers throughout North America by truck or rail to produce new products, including new battery casings. Terrapure can produce approximately 10,000 tonnes of recycled polypropylene pellets annually. Given that lead batteries typically contain 4 to 5 percent plastic by weight, this additional recycling opportunity further strengthens the already impressive success story of the circular economy for batteries.
Terrapure provides a vital service that not only recovers value from what would otherwise be a hazardous waste that would be disposed of, but also helps conserve natural resources and protect the environment. Lead batteries, which are essential to the green energy transition, are the most recycled consumer and industrial product in North America – about 99 percent of batteries are recovered and recycled, far more than any other product – and the components can be reused infinitely.
Additionally, recycling plastic battery casings for reuse generates between 57 and 66 percent fewer greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at Terrapure’s facilities than the process to produce plastic from conventional manufacturing, according to recent GHG assessments.
“We’re proud to add plastic recycling to our operations in Ville de Ste-Catherine,” said Martin Fournier, Terrapure’s Operations Manager, Plastics Recycling. “This state-of-the-art recycling process allows us to add even more value for our customers and further establishes Terrapure as a circular-economy leader.”
Terrapure recovers over 90 percent of the constituent components in batteries. Each year at its Ville de Ste-Catherine facility and another facility in Mississauga, Ont., the company recycles 12 million spent batteries and has the ability to recover up to 134,000 tonnes of lead and 15,000 tonnes of polypropylene pellets to be reused in the manufacturing of new batteries. The company employees 340+ highly skilled employees between its two plants, including 220+ in Quebec.
ABOUT TERRAPURE
Terrapure Environmental is a leading provider of recycling solutions that contribute to the circular economy of batteries and create value for customers throughout North America. With an unwavering focus on environmental, health and safety excellence, recycle lead batteries and provide recovered lead and plastics to the battery manufacturing industry for reuse in the creation of new products, while significantly reducing waste requiring disposal. At Terrapure, we’re Changing Waste for Good.
For more information, visit terrapureenv.com.
