Tharun Kandeepan has always been fascinated by the working properties of chemicals, which led to a "keen interest" in plastics manufacturing.
After graduating from university, he was "impressed and motivated" by the work Norwich Plastics Inc. was doing to divert post-consumer and post-industrial PVC from landfills. His professional career started as a medical recycling and inventory control coordinator for the PVC recycler and compounder in Cambridge, Ontario.
"My greatest achievement would be being a member in the growth of the medical devices recycling program at Norwich Plastics. We have come up with the PVC-123 for Canada and MediVinyl for USA. In this program, we focus on recycling the PVC medical devices such as oxygen masks, tubing, IV bags and nasal cannulas that are being used at the hospitals. We currently have 20 hospitals participating in the program and 11 more facilities in the process of onboarding. We have successfully diverted around 83,000 pounds of medical PVC from landfill since the start of the program in 2020," Kandeepan said.
"As a medical recycling coordinator, the major challenge I am faced with is the logistical network for our PVC-123 and MediVinyl program. The cost of logistics is very high, and due to its high cost, we are [in a] difficult position as we are not able to connect with hospitals that are far from our facility or at a different province. To overcome this challenge, we are working with many local logistics companies and local GPOs [group purchasing organizations] to make it economical and efficient to recycle PVC plastics," he added.
Norwich Plastics recycles about 50 million pounds of post-consumer and post-industrial PVC every year, Kandeepan said, and that includes flooring, automobile components, roofing, pool liners, medical devices, credit cards, gloves, grocery cart components and more.
"Being a part of the team at Norwich Plastics makes me proud in being able to contribute to global sustainability," added Kandeepan, who has a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Amrita University in India and a master's degree in civil and environmental engineering from Western University in Ontario.
"The emerging technology that interests me the most is chemical recycling. The process of breaking down hard plastics into its original form fascinates me. This technology will be a game-changer in plastics recycling," he said.
Kandeepan said his philosophy related to plastics and sustainability prioritizes the diversion of post-consumer and post-industrial plastics from landfills.
"To achieve this, one should be responsible while purchasing and [consuming] single-use plastics. I believe in encouraging others in using environmentally friendly options. Educating others in [how] the three R's — recycle, reuse and reduce — play a major role in future sustainability," he said.
The best advice Kandeepan has received, he said, has been to take one step at a time and focus on what is in front of you: "Don't put all your focus in the final result. By doing that, you might miss out on all the small experiences and happiness that will come along the way."