EPI Environmental Technologies Inc. and its subsidiaries have been in operation since 1991. EPI has developed the oxo-biodegradable technology, which is designed to enhance one of the unfavorable characteristics of plastics, i.e. their persistence and accumulation in our society, and licenses its technology and supplies its oxo-biodegradable additives to plastics manufacturers globally.
EPI discovered this exciting and breakthrough oxo-biodegradable plastic technology soon after its inception. However, it took several years to harness and apply the technology in a range of plastic applications. The technology is first applied to EPI's Enviro Cover, which is degradable plastic daily cover for the landfills. EPI then enhanced its oxo-biodegradable technology in disposable plastic applications. It developed a handful of products such as carrier and refuse bags for the consumer market and films the agricultural and waste management markets. Because EPI does not manufacture the finished product itself, EPI supplies the oxo-biodegradable know-how and technology through the sale of its TDPA® additives to the companies that manufacture these plastic products.
EPI has developed a number of food packaging applications with its food packaging grade TDPA® plastic additives, which comply with the requirements of the United States Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”), the European Food Safety Authority (“EFSA”) and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (“CFIA”). EPI also supplies agricultural grade additives for agricultural applications, where the plastic film is designed to degrade and eventually biodegrade on the farmers’ field after its use. The TDPA® incorporated films are usually left in the soil after its use, saving the farmer countless hours of labour in retrieving the plastic from the fields.
Since then, EPI has expanded its oxo-biodegradable technology to over 150 product applications. EPI’s oxo-biodegradable TDPA® additives are very easily incorporated into a wide variety of plastic products without the loss of the inherent characteristics of the plastics. EPI works with its licensees (plastic manufacturers) to offer environmentally responsible disposable plastics at an affordable price to the marketplace, through a combination of sales, marketing, and consumer and government education programs.
It is estimated that single use plastics are consumed at an annual rate of 79 billion pounds per annum, i.e. 12 pounds for every person on the globe. Almost all of this plastic waste is non-degradable and persists in the environment for very long periods of time. EPI offers an environmentally friendly alternative to both plastic manufacturers and consumers - a technological solution that will modify commodity plastics and ensure increased environmental responsibility. TDPA® plastic additives will degrade and eventually biodegrade certain commodity plastic products. They convert these plastics into water, carbon dioxide and biomass in a short controlled time period, returning TDPA® incorporated plastics back to the natural bio-cycle.