Plastics Challenge – E-Waste

**NEW - May 8, 2020

New attachment has been added. Please read the document as it provides important information pertaining to the submission of your proposal.

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May 5, 2020

• The closing date for this challenge has been extended to May 26, 2020 at 14:00 EDT.

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April 14, 2020

Due to the issues surrounding COVID19, we have decided to extend the solicitation closing date until May 12, 2020.

This Challenge Notice is issued under the Innovative Solutions Canada Program (ISC) Call for Proposals 003 (EN578-20ISC3). For general ISC information, Bidders can visit the ISC website.

Please refer to the Solicitation Documents which contain the process for submitting a proposal.

Steps to apply:

Step 1: read this challenge

Step 2: read the Call for Proposals

Step 3: propose your solution here

Challenge title: Plastics Challenge – E-Waste

CHALLENGE SPONSOR: Shared Services Canada (SSC) and Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC)

Funding Mechanism: Contract

MAXIMUM CONTRACT VALUE:

Multiple contracts could result from this Challenge.

The maximum funding available for any Phase 1 contract resulting from this Challenge is $150,000.00 CAD excluding applicable taxes, shipping, travel and living expenses, as required, for up to 6 months (excluding submission of the final report).

Estimated number of Phase 1 contracts: 2

The maximum funding available for any Phase 2 contract resulting from this Challenge is $1,000,000.00 CAD excluding applicable taxes, shipping, travel and living expenses, as required, for up to 24 months (excluding submission of the final report). Only eligible businesses that have successfully completed Phase 1 will be considered for Phase 2.

Estimated number of Phase 2 contracts: 1

This disclosure is made in good faith and does not commit Canada to contract for the total approximate funding. Final decisions on the number of Phase 1 and Phase 2 awards will be made by Canada on the basis of factors such as evaluation results, departmental priorities and availability of funds.

TRAVEL:  

No travel is anticipated

Problem Summary Statement

Shared Services Canada (SSC) and Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) are seeking a solution that will enable recycling of e-waste plastics and metals in Canada while respecting domestic and international requirements and obligations.

Problem Statement

This challenge is highly relevant to SSC and ECCC's mandate and the federal government's commitment to move Canada towards a zero plastic waste economy. Plastics are valuable materials and resources because of their unrivalled functionality, durability, and low cost. Plastics are used in almost every aspect of Canadians’ daily lives and provide significant economic, environmental and social benefits.

SSC purchases IT equipment such as laptops, monitors, phones etc. on behalf of 43 government departments. There are a variety of options for the disposal of surplus IT equipment in the Government of Canada, however there are challenges to ensure that all components of e-waste are properly and safely disposed of after they are collected and dismantled. While there is a focus on finding options to reuse electronic equipment, not all surplus electronic materials are suitable for reuse leaving some to be recycled. With the impending closure of hundreds of legacy Data Centres across the country, there will be a large quantity of recyclable e-waste from those facilities over the next 5 years. E-waste including items such as electric wires, cables, laptops, tablets, cell phones, batteries, hard drives, contain both plastic and metal components i.e, cobalt, lead, mercury, cadmium, brominated flame retardants, perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), and phthalates, which have potential to cause both harm to the environment and human health in the long term. Recycling this e-waste in an environmentally sustainable manner is a pressing, short-term challenge for SSC. That said, reducing e-waste plastics is also a long-term strategic consideration for SSC. Given SSC’s role as the leading electronics procurer for the Government of Canada and the Government of Canada’s broader Zero Plastic Waste Agenda, there are growing procurement opportunities for companies that design products that minimize or eliminate end-of-life plastic and metal waste.

E-Waste recyclers in Canada currently lack the technologies to decontaminate plastics removed from e-waste at the dismantling stage. Such technologies would divert e-waste plastics from landfills without exporting and recycling it outside of Canada. These technologies would also enable the conversion of e-waste plastics into valuable materials or molecules.

Please note that proposed innovations must respect all relevant federal, provincial, and municipal environmental regulations such as the Prohibition of Certain Toxic Substances Regulations, 2012 under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.

Outcomes and Considerations

Essential (mandatory) outcomes

The proposed solution must:

1. Be a functional, scalable, cost-effective, and energy efficient solution to e-waste plastics;
2. Be informed by science, be evidence-based and consider environmental, social, and economic impacts;
3. Describe the proposed technology and/or business-model and how it compares with existing management operations/activities for e-waste plastics, and explain its benefits and drawbacks throughout the entire life-cycle (i.e., from input, production, use, recovery/recycle, and final waste disposal);
4. Ensure that chemicals of concern i.e. cobalt, lead, mercury, cadmium, brominated flame retardants, perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), phthalates, and acids are properly managed and are not released into the environment or do not result in human health exposure;
5. Decontaminate plastics removed from e-waste at the dismantling stage;
6. Enable the conversion of decontaminated e-waste plastics into valuable materials or molecules; 
7. Divert e-waste plastics from landfills without exporting and recycling it outside of Canada;
8. Have no adverse environmental impacts.

Additional Outcomes

The proposed solution should:

1. Be a functional, scalable, cost-effective, and energy efficient solution to e-waste metals and heavy metals;
2. Demonstrate improved value-recovery for e-waste metals and heavy metals; 
3. Enable the recycling and/or processing of rare earth elements (such as magnets in hard drives and mobile device screens) recovered from e-waste after being decoupled from the plastic components;
4. Demonstrate improved potential for repair, refurbishment, and remanufacturing of e-waste plastics and/or metals;
5. Meet or exceed the requirements for the Greening Government Strategy, which looks to reduce the environmental impact of waste associated with the chemicals and metals found in electrical and electronic equipment products used by the Government of Canada. 

Background and Context

Overall, waste from electrical and electronic equipment (or e-waste), including items such as electric wire, cables, and other plastic components and/or parts, represented 7% of plastic waste generated in Canada in 2016. In addition, e-waste plastics often contain toxic substances such as brominated flame retardants, perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), and phthalates, which have potential to cause both harm to the environment and human health in the long term. The presence of these chemicals can make the recycling of these materials very difficult or may even be prohibited under domestic regulations in some cases.

Although a number of regulated and/or voluntary programs (i.e. Extended Producer Responsibility - EPR), led by provincial and territorial governments, as well as industry, are in place to address e-waste across Canada, they do not cover all e-waste generated in Canada. Currently, the Government of Canada must follow the Electronic Recycling Standard, which ensures e-waste is appropriately recycled, and focuses on safety, security of product, and appropriate downstream disposition of materials handled. The feasibility to properly recycle e-waste is also highly dependent upon physical location. SSC has recently undertaken an initiative to assist other federal departments in remote locations to safely remove e-waste from their facilities and offices. The pilot project in Iqaluit, Nunavut in 2019 resulted in 3,500kg of e-waste being recycled and diverted from Canadian landfills. 

The Government of Canada has committed to reducing plastic waste and pollution both within Canada and around the world. At the 2018 G7 in Charlevoix, Quebec, Canada launched the Ocean Plastics Charter. This Charter, which has now been endorsed by 25 governments as well as over 60 businesses and organizations worldwide, sets targets and outlines actions to eradicate plastic waste and marine litter. The Government of Canada is also working with provinces and territories through the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) who have launched a Canada-wide Strategy for Zero Plastic Waste and adopted the first phase of an Action Plan to drive concrete actions across the country.

This challenge will support domestic action and innovation on plastics. This challenge also relates directly to the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) Greening Government Strategy, which looks to reduce the environmental impact of waste associated with harmful and hazardous chemicals used and disposed of by the Government of Canada. In October 2009, the CCME released the Canada-Wide Action Plan for Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). This Canada-wide action plan seeks to shift full life-cycle costs of a product to the product’s producers. Electronics and electrical products were included within the first phase of this action plan. The CCME continues to work to harmonize and expand existing EPR programs in Canada for e-waste. 

ENQUIRIES

All enquiries must be submitted in writing to TPSGC.SIC-ISC.PWGSC@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca no later than ten calendar days before the Challenge Notice closing date. Enquiries received after that time may not be answered.