Our Previous Work

Recycle BC

Responsible Supply Chain Project (Sept 2022 - Apr 2023)

Recycle BC manages and collects all residential plastic, paper, and other materials in BC, in addition to ensuring they are properly recycled. This material is processed as much as possible in BC first, followed by facilities in Canada, then North America. While a subset of the material is sent overseas for processing, Recycle BC has stringent protocols for accepting the end markets that have access to collected materia. Vio Sustainability was hired to evaluate the effectiveness of their process and to investigate the standard within the recycling industry as well as in adjacent industries. Vio sustainability assembled a path to further strengthen the efficiency of protocol, support aspiring facilities to improve their conditions, and reduce the risk to Recycle BC’s operations. The report generated by Vio Sustainability was then used as a launch document to form the Responsible End Market Working Group involving several PROs from across Canada.

Cleanfarms

Northern BC Agricultural Plastic Collection Pilot (June 2023 - Current)

Vio Sustainability is coordinating the operational management of Cleanfarms' agricultural plastic collection program, a first of its kind in Northern British Columbia. Spanning three participating districts - Bulkley-Nechako, Fraser-Fort George, and Peace River - this project is navigating the unique challenges inherent in Northern BC, including vast land areas, lower agricultural plastic waste generation rates compared to other provinces, and a scarcity of available contractors. Supported by funding from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada through the Canadian Agricultural Strategic Priorities Program (CASPP) and participating regional districts, Cleanfarms' pilot program aims to jumpstart work on agricultural EPR in the province by changing farmers’ recycling behaviour and creating the operational framework for when legislation is in place. Currently, Vio Sustainability continues to oversee program operations, manage contractor relationships, optimize transportation efficiencies, with the goal of crafting a playbook to guide similar initiatives in the province.

Perk Eco

Coffee Cup Paper Recycling End Markets (January 2024 - March 2024)

Perk Eco is a recycling company and waste innovator that services cafes and coffee roasters. They are maturing the development of their proprietary method to fully recycle poly-coated paper cups and anticipate having significant amounts of rescued pulp from their process. Perk wanted to explore options to ensure these are responsibly recycled and enlisted Vio Sustainability to conduct a market study to understand the pulp and paper recycling industry in British Columbia. Through primary and secondary research including news articles, interviews with industry experts, and industry reports, Vio Sustainability explored options available to Perk and submitted a report outlining a recommendation on how to interact with the industry and what alternative options could be explored.

Zero Waste Coffee Husk Pet Beds Consumer Market Study (Sept 2023 - February 2024)

Perk Eco produces circular economy products using coffee industry waste materials. In order to better understand their customer archetype, Vio Sustainability conducted a customer discovery project to pinpoint customer personas, shopping habits, material preferences, and willingness to spend. In addition, a brief competitive analysis was done to analyze how Perk's coffee husk filler material compared to incumbent existing virgin materials . The results of the study were compiled in a report and will be used to determine future product launches and market expansion strategies.

We started working with Enzo and Vio Sustainability in 2022 with a project benchmarking our current end market protocols and seeing where improvements could be made. We were very impressed with the work, especially how Enzo was able to find methodologies in other industries to avoid reinventing the wheel. Today, we have Vio Sustainability working on a handful of key projects towards improving our flexible plastics operations.

Sam Baker, Vice President of Operations, Western Canada Recycle BC
PENDING APPROVAL
We have been working with Enzo and Vio Sustainability since July 2023 and it has been reassuring to know the project is being taken care of. I can focus on other aspects of my role, especially since it involves a lot of travel, and hand off tasks knowing anything urgent will be thoroughly communicated. On top of that, Enzo has also been able to step in and handle higher level presentations to our stakeholders and discuss contract extensions. Enzo and his company have also been a great help in managing our data and reporting which is crucial for our grant funders.

Shane Hedderson, Director, Western Canada, Cleanfarms
Enzo and Vio Sustainability provided crucial support to CET with waste audit reporting activities. They quickly learned the required format and style to provide value, allowing CET to focus on additional business activities.

Daniel Rottman, CEO/Founder, Circular Economy Technologies

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We hired Enzo and Vio Sustainability to map our downstream supply chain to provide more visibility on end-of-life destinations of our materials. Enzo's knowledge and tenacity were a perfect fit for this work, and the final report Vio Sustainability provided was concise, relevant and exactly what we needed to be able to ensure we were delivering on our promise of Zero Waste to Landfill for our customers. We'd hire Enzo again for future projects and highly recommend him.

Jennifer Henry, CEO/Founder, Perk Eco

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We partnered with Enzo and Vio Sustainability to get a better understanding of the waste and recycling industry. Enzo was able to facilitate a strategic partnership with a key stakeholder and secure us funding to begin our pilot project.

Frank Pho, CEO/Founder, Samsara Materials Inc

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