This installment in our PLASTICS Clean Up Champions blog series features Epsilyte—an environmentally-conscious company that makes, among other things, insulating foams that add to the safety of bicycle helmets, allow for the safe and economical transportation of food and medicine, and help reduce carbon emissions by making buildings energy efficient.
This installment in our PLASTICS Clean Up Champions blog series features Epsilyte—a company that makes, among other things, insulating foams that add to the safety of bicycle helmets, allow for the safe and economical transportation of food and medicine, and help reduce carbon emissions by making buildings energy efficient.
“By leveraging our innovative insulative polymers, we strive to enhance the well-being of our customers, employees, and the community,” said Mary Steinbach, Innovation and Sustainability Manager at Epsilyte’s Peru, Illinois plant. “Our solutions reduce energy consumption and offer superior impact protection for products and people.”
New Ownership Brings New Perspectives
Steinbach came to her current position after Epsilyte acquired the Peru plant, bringing a mandate to foster a sustainability mindset and create the organizational infrastructure to make sustainability a companywide priority. Steinbach looked for ways to communicate that sustainability commitment to the surrounding community when she became aware of the PLASTICS Clean Up Champions initiative.
Learning about the initiative led Steinbach and a team representing the Peru plant to take a page out of the PLASTICS Guide to Planning a Litter Clean Up and seek out a partner organization. That search led to Perfectly Flawed—a local group that helps people with addiction struggles. Perfectly Flawed was putting together a larger team for an Earth Day Clean Up with the Canal Corridor Association; the event focused on a portion of the famous I&M Canal that connects the Illinois River with Lake Michigan.
Volunteers from Epsilyte were part of a community team that collected approximately 2,880 pounds of trash.
Working as a Member of a Community
“Epsilyte takes great pride in partnering with the Perfectly Flawed Foundation for the 2023 Earth Day Clean Up,” said Steinbach. “As a leading polymer manufacturer, we are committed to actively addressing the global issue of plastic pollution and promoting responsible waste management within our communities.”
According to statistics provided by Perfectly Flawed, the event was a big success. The event filled 60 42-gallon trash bags, which amounted to approximately 2,880 pounds of waste removed from the canal area.
Epsilyte’s community involvement continues
In addition to being a PLASTICS Clean Up Champion, the Peru plant is a member of the Community Advisory Panel for the Illinois Valley Chamber of Commerce and participates in the Annual Angel Tree Program that provides Christmas gifts for children in need. And they’re always on the lookout for other opportunities. Steinbach says they’ll certainly be staying in touch with Perfectly Flawed.
“We can’t wait for the opportunity to join forces again in 2024,” she said, “further strengthening our collective efforts towards a cleaner, more sustainable future.”
All that activity in Illinois is just a snapshot of what Epsilyte is doing companywide. The Clean Up Champions Initiative will soon be added to the various community outreach activities at the company’s Texas, Ohio, and Quebec locations.
