Emterra Group Founder and CEO Emmie Leung Receives Lifetime Achievement Award from the Tire and Rubber Association of Canada

OAKVILLE, ON, June 5, 2026 - The Tire and Rubber Association of Canada (TRAC) has presented its Lifetime Achievement Award to Emmie Leung, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Emterra Group, in recognition of a career that helped build Canada's recycling and resource recovery sector over five decades. The award was presented at TRAC's Annual General Meeting on June 4, 2026 at the Alt Hotel Toronto Airport.

Leung founded the company that would become Emterra Group in 1976, beginning as a one-woman operation collecting recyclable paper before most Canadians thought of waste as a resource. She went on to introduce one of the country's first curbside recycling programs and grew the business into a national leader in recycling, resource recovery, and circular-economy services.

Today the group's operations include Emterra Tire Recycling, which transforms end-of-life tires into high-quality crumb rubber, the work that sits squarely within TRAC's mandate. Complementing this, Ryse Solutions, Emterra Group's Producer Responsibility Organization, supports producers across regulated material streams in Ontario, helping them meet compliance requirements with strong operational backing. Together, these divisions offer an integrated model that gives producers clear visibility into how materials are managed and recovered, with strong accountability across the entire value chain.

The recognition is notable because it comes from the tire and rubber industry itself, honouring a leader who built her reputation in recycling and helped demonstrate that materials others discarded could be returned to productive use. It also caps a milestone year for the company, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2026.

"Receiving this recognition from the tire and rubber industry means a great deal to me," said Emmie Leung, Founder and CEO of Emterra Group. "I have spent fifty years in recycling, and the progress we are celebrating needs to be shared with the producers and manufacturers we work with. Their commitment to sustainability is what makes a true circular economy possible, and it has been a privilege to partner with so many of them.

"When I started out, the idea that waste could be valuable was not one many people took seriously. I did, and so did the people who built this company with me. Everyday, we continue prove that nothing has to be thrown away, and that is what drives the innovation within Emterra Group."

TRAC's Industry Leadership Awards recognize individuals and organizations for their contributions to the Canadian tire and rubber industry, including end-of-life tire management and sustainability. The awards are presented annually in four categories: Leader of the Year, Young Leader, Lifetime Achievement, and Sustainability.

Media contact:

Ashley Darrah
Senior Marketing Communications & Engagement Specialist
communications@emterra.ca