Agilyx, a US-based mixed waste plastic recycling company, has collaborated with The Broomsmen and Edgefield McMenamins on a recycling program targeting single use plastic materials during McMenamins 2018 Concert on the Lawn series.
Image: Agilyx has collected, recycled approximately 90,000 cans and bottles and donated to local nonprofits. Photo: Courtesy of PRNewswire/Agilyx.
The plastics recycling firm said that the Edgefield McMenamins has joined forces with The Broomsmen, an event waste management company, and Agilyx during the 2018 Concert on the Lawn series.
The program is aimed at diverting materials from the landfill, keeping the venue clean, and educating the concert attendees on proper sorting methods in an effort to lower the venue’s waste costs and reduce waste generated throughout the year.
The Broomsmen has teamed up with McMenamins to source polystyrene food-service products for use during the concert series, which can be continuously recycled back to basic chemical building blocks.
The Broomsmen owner and founder Phil Torchio said: “We would like to thank McMenamins for introducing this initiative to increase community recycling. It shows they are committed to making the planet a better place.
“As an organization, we strive to help our clients achieve their goals of eliminating waste and encourage them to implement these initiatives in their everyday lives.”
Agilyx said that it uses its patented process to recycle the polystyrene material back into styrene monomer that then was sent to polystyrene manufacturers to be used to make new polystyrene products.
Furthermore, the firm claims that its chemical recycling process is capable of reducing a 50%-70% carbon footprint compared to virgin polystyrene manufacturing.
Agilyx chief executive officer Joe Vaillancourt said: “Our partnering with The Broomsmen and McMenamins was a huge success and represents a new emerging approach to recycling of plastic that prevents wasting this material. We chemically recycled over 2,000 lbs of single-use polystyrene products during this test program.
“Single use products are actually not single-use when they are effectively managed in high tech processes. Our technology can recycle plastics back to their basic molecular components to be used again and again.”
About 90,000 cans and bottles were said to have collected, recycled, and donated to local nonprofits during the show concert series and there was a 30% reduction in per-show landfill waste from 2017 to 2018.
McMenamins environmental coordinator Scott Lipscomb said: “We were thrilled to work with the Broomsmen and Agilyx on reducing waste during our Concert on the Lawn series and look forward to working with them again in the future.”