Canadian Plastics Industry Association awards their prestigious 2018 Leader of the Year to Emterra’s Emmie Leung

Canadian Plastics Industry Association awards their prestigious 2018 Leader of the Year to Emterra’s Emmie Leung

September 09, 2018

Emmie Leung, Founder and CEO of Emterra Group (left) is pictured on stage during the Canadian Plastics Industry Association awards accepting their Leader of the Year award.

Widely recognized as a trail blazer in the Canadian recycling industry and a passionate supporter of sustainable growth and a circular economy in the waste resource recovery business, Emmie Leung, Founder and CEO of Emterra Group can now add a new accolade to her list of accomplishments. On October 3, the Canadian Plastics Industry Association (CPIA) awarded her their prestigious 2018 Leader of the Year.

Presenting the award at a gala event in Woodbridge, Ontario, the 2017 winner, Terry Elliott, president of a plastics blow molder and injection molder company called Scepter, described Emmie as a “driving force for waste resources management and recycling across Canada for almost four decades.”

Elliott credited Emmie for her entrepreneurial leadership in building a company comprising five divisions that “create and deliver products and services that enable people and businesses to be stewards of the environment and the future.”

Emmie accepted the award saying she was both surprised and honoured to be selected the winner of CPIA’s top leadership recognition.

“I owe this award and recognition to my team, I want to thank them for supporting the organization and everything we stand for,” commented Ms. Leung during her acceptance presentation who also recognized the many partners, customers and suppliers present during the event. “The future is bright and if we continue to work together and draw from the knowledge and experience of each other we can reach our goals, work towards a circular economy and build a sustainable environment for today and for the future.”

Emmie’s ability to envision business growth and development in the green and clean economies has led her to expand her company divisions to include Emterra Environmental and Emterra Environmental USA which are waste resource management companies; Emterra Tire Recycling; Canadian Liquids Processors Limited which provides services for secure product destruction for a variety of sugar and alcohol-based liquid goods by converting them into ethanol; and Ryse Solutions, Canada’s first fully integrated producer responsibility organization which offers compliance services and material recovery solutions and advice under one umbrella. Together these companies employ more than 1,100 people.

In addition, Emmie has forged innovative partnerships with other waste resource recovery visionaries to create such plastics industry recycling powerhouses as ReVital Polymers in Sarnia, Ontario and the Circular Polymers Group.

Last month, ReVital Polymers co-announced a strategic partnership with Pyrowave and INEOS Styrolution to recycle polystyrene packaging collected in consumer curbside and depot recycling systems as well as other sources such as restaurants, offices, schools and universities. The collaboration will use advanced recycling technology pioneered by Pyrowave that will close the loop by recycling single-serve polystyrene packaging and utilizing recycled polystyrene in the manufacturing of new products and packaging. This Canadian solution will not only reduce the amount of polystyrene packaging going to landfill but will also address the global problem of plastic pollution in marine environments.

While Emmie’s enormous capacity for work keeps her focused on business development, she doesn’t lose sight of the need to nurture awareness of environmental health and well-being. The CPIA 2018 Leader of the Year award recognized her commitment to improve environmental sustainability in the communities where Emterra is located. To that purpose, Emterra created their Community Care program to partner with local organizations to design and implement charitable giving programs. An example is Emterra’s “Make Your Contribution at the CurbTM’ where Emterra donates one dollar for every tonne of recycling residents place at the curb. Emterra’s Community Care programs provide charitable gifts to worthwhile community organizations and activities while raising awareness of the need for waste reduction, and for consumers and businesses to recycle more while linking community health to sustainability.