Edmonton university students build plastic recycling facility from scratch

Edmonton engineering students are giving trash a new life in the local economy.

Level 7 Plastics, a plastic recycling and manufacturing initiative led by student engineers at the University of Alberta campus, is taking action against plastic pollution.

The facility and all its machines was created entirely by engineering students like co-founder Connor Povoledo.

The initiative aims to highlight the benefits of domestic recycling, which cuts down on the environmental and financial costs of shipping plastics to recycling facilities in other countries.

Created in 2019, it's come a long way from its humble beginnings.

"Like any cool idea, we started in a garage," Povoledo said.

After building their machines from scratch, Povolado and his friends relocated to a larger space in Sturgeon County before finding a new home on campus.

At its core, Level 7 aims to inspire others to take action, and Povoledo said he hopes to share the project with other universities interested in starting their own recycling facilities.

"I'm sort of driven towards this project out of a sentiment of responsibility and duty to the community more than I am for any other reason," Povoledo said.

The plastic is collected from local sources, including the Edmonton Waste Management Centre, and brought to the lab where it's shredded, melted and made into other products.

The recycled items are sold online at the Level 7 Plastics website. 

"Our goal is to hit a point to break even so we're not just begging the university to fund us every year," Povoledo said. 

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Nav Sangha