New Sarnia lab will enhance and strengthen recycled products

The amount of recycled materials used in some products will accelerate thanks to a new lab space at Lambton College.

The Canadian Excursion Research Lab (CERL), located within the Sarnia-Lambton Research Park, debuted Wednesday.

At its core. the facility will utilize complex machinery to determine if a product can be made with a higher percentage of recycled materials.

“It’s like baking,” said CERL Operations Manager Joel Hodgson. “There is all these ingredients in all these materials, like plastics or rubbers, and were looking at putting in new ingredients that are more sustainable.”

While demonstrations of the equipment were not possible Wednesday, some Sarnia Chemical Valley producers are excited to see the CERL go on line.

Among them, ReVital Polymers Inc. The recycled plastic manufacturer intends to utilize the lab for its products, which include plastic paint cans.

Quality Manager Faisal Hameed expects future CERL testing will create stronger and more sustainable items for customers.

Canadian Excursion Research Lab Operations Manager, Joel Hodgson. Oct. 11, 2023. (Sean Irvine/CTV News London)

“It going to help us prove our recipe for the products that we make,” Hammed told CTV News.

Hodgson concurred with the assessment, saying, “The equipment we have is very specialized and on a very smaller scale. So, we’re able to help those companies make that jump from the batch size into large scale production.”

The CERL will also help dozens of research students enhance their education.

Faisal Hameed is a quality manager at ReVital Polymers in Sarnia. Oct. 11, 2023. (Sean Irvine/CTV News London)“Our expanded capabilities do more than just create R&D opportunities. It creates invaluable learning opportunities for our students,” stated Mehdi Sheikzadeh, senior vice-president of research at Lambton College.

 

And in many cases, the CERL will also turn out a first job.

“Our first go to stop for co-op positions or hiring for our research team, is going to be Lambton College,” concluded Hameed.