Crystal Howe, Director of Sustainability with Shelburne-based bottled water company Ice River Springs, has been working in renewables her whole life.
“My parents actually started the business back in 1995, and they were farmers first,” remembered Howe.
“I think growing up with that in your background, you always keep [the] environment very close at hand.” she continued.
The Gott Family. Founders of Ice River Springs
In 2007, the company started to become concerned about the impact their product was having on the environment – so they decided to do something about it.
“We tried cartons, we tried biodegradable plastic, and neither one turned out to be what we were expecting,” said Howe.
But when the company went back to PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) plastic, they realized the solution to their problem lay in the problem itself.
The now iconic green bottle
“We built our own recycling plant [right here] in Shelburne,” she said.
“That created a circular economy for PET plastics where we take about 80-85 percent of the PET collected in the blue box program and turn it right back into bottles again.”
The sort table, where plastics begin to get recycled
The construction of their own recycling plant meant the company began collecting other types of plastics in addition to PET.
This led to the creation of new companies designed to consume those plastics.
Howe says her parents were watching Dragons Den one day when a plastic recycling company came on to pitch their business model.
When the TV deal fell through, Ice River stepped in and invested in the company – eventually gaining full ownership 3 years ago.
“We make furniture in Stratford at CR Plastics out of the caps and lids we get from the blue box program.” she said. “When we grind up the bottles… the PET will sink, and the lids will float.”
The business has now expanded to include 5 different companies, each with their own role in the recycling and manufacturing chain.
The Ice River family of companies
In 2017, the company won an international award in Barcelona for their sustainable packaging model.
“We are very proud of what we do, and we want to make sure that everyone knows this all started in a small town in Canada.” said Howe.
“[Water] is the most important resource on Earth. We want to protect it, and we would never do anything to hurt it.” Howe finished.
Ice River Springs is located in Shelburne, and operates recycling and manufacturing companies throughout Ontario.
Hear the full interview with Crystal Howe below!
