Canadian construction and infrastructure development company, Aecon, has partnered with Light House, a British Columbia-based nonprofit focused on green building research, on an innovative initiative to recycle plastic wastes and create a circular economy in the construction industry.
The Construction Plastics Initiative (CPI) is taking place at the Holdom Overpass Project in Vancouver, where construction plastic waste is collected and sent to a plastics facility to be weighed, sorted, and then recycled into reusable pellets that are used by a local manufacturer, Plascon Plastics, who then manufactures a building product called InfinaNet, for Infina Technologies Inc. InfinaNet is a concrete byproduct used in concrete slab floors for multi-unit residential buildings. It can reduce the amount of concrete required while lowering the weight of the floor without reliance on first-time plastics.
“We’re pleased to support this circular economy program through the Construction Plastics Initiative, designed to reduce waste and promote the reuse of construction materials that would typically be sent to landfill,” said Prabh K. Banga, Vice President, Sustainability, Aecon. “Our leadership in this initiative reflects a commitment to circularity and advancing Canadian research on construction waste solutions.”
Since May 2025, Aecon has contributed 1,856 kg of plastic to the initiative, while Light House has facilitated the removal of the plastic waste. According to Light House, in Canada, packaging from industrial, commercial, and institutional sources accounted for 52 percent of Canada’s plastic packaging waste.
“The Construction Plastics Initiative is an important first step in quantifying the challenges and demonstrating how industry innovation can reduce the amount of plastic waste on projects and convert the materials that are generated into a valued resource in a way that is cost-neutral to general contractors,” said Gil Yarron, Managing Director, Light House.
