Circular Economy

Producing renewable chemicals from waste helps accelerate the transition to a circular economy where waste becomes a resource for the production of everyday products.

As countries all around the world look for ways to transition from a linear economy — whereby we take, make, use and dispose, to a circular economy where we reduce, reuse and recycle — one small innovative Canadian startup has come up with a revolutionary idea: to develop and commercialize a disruptive technology that uses an abundant resource available everywhere – non-recyclable waste – as a resource to manufacture renewable chemicals that find their way into everyday products, like paint, solvents, glues, plastics and even textiles.

Enerkem can help communities create value and meet local waste diversion objectives. While reducing pollution and green gas emissions, Enerkem’s technology can help the world shift from a linear economy to a circular economy that uses waste as a resource to produce sustainable products 

Our facilities help diversify the energy mix and make greener everyday products while offering a sustainable and economical alternative to landfilling, incineration and traditional fuels and chemicals. It also represents a sustainable waste management solution that is complementary to recycling and composting. 

Our technology uses waste materials such as textiles, non-recyclable plastics, wood residues, or soiled food containers. In addition to reducing landfilling and avoiding the creation of new landfill capacity, the use of municipal solid waste as a feedstock for the production of biofuels offers important advantages: it does not compete with food supply, it does not have land use impact, and it is already collected via the waste management industry’s existing collection, distribution, and logistics infrastructure. It is a sustainable alternative to the challenges associated with waste disposal.