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Results of Contractor/Driller Survey: Do You Recycle?

Canadian Pipe and Pump Supply and Ground Water Canada conducted a survey in February and March 2021 to understand current recycling practices among contractors/drillers in the groundwater industry in preparation for an upcoming podcast series.

Survey results

Thirty-one contractors participated in the anonymous survey. Here are key results:

• 70 per cent of contractors participate in recycling of well building products.
• All said they recycle back at the shop (as opposed to on the drilling site).
• Of those who do recycle, the products most often recycled are metal casing (86%), plastic containers (64%), plastic bags (nearly half).
• About one-third of people named a slew of other products: cardboard packaging; copper and brass wire; brass fittings; pitless adapters; aluminum well lids; pressure tanks; pumps; steel riser pipe; paper bags; and stainless steel.
• Of those who don’t currently take part in recycling, more than half said they plan to in future.
• Those who don’t plan to recycle gave a range of reasons – very few materials they use need to be recycled, they are not sure which items can be recycled, they are not sure what to do with materials that do require recycling, it’s too costly, it’s too time consuming. One respondent expressed interest in recycling PVC well pipe, PVC direct push probe liners, hole plug bags and sand bags, but was not aware of any way to do that.
• Everyone thought recycling was important.

Many people commented on their practices and on the availability or lack of programs for specific items. Here are a few of the comments:

• “We would recycle more if facilities existed.”
• “I would recycle plastic casing from well decommissions, if I knew where to take them, as well as expired UV lamps.”
• “I do recycle pumps and metal from service work performed for customers.”
• “I have yet to find a company that will recycle poly and / or PVC casing.”
• “We try to do what we can to clean up materials not required or supplies that have come in bags or boxes – these are brought back to the shop to recycle what we can.”
• “Metal products are easily recycled.”
• “Our current city recycling program does not accept PVC, polyethylene or plastic bags.”
• “Please provide resources to help us.”
• “We are a pump company and recycle our everyday plastic and take our scrap metal to a yard that reuses it.”
• “Recycling of any kind is important these days. . . . It’s never perfect but an effort needs to be made.”

We thank those who participated in the survey. Your input to the anonymous survey helped us learn more about the industry for the purposes of determining a path toward best practices.

Didn’t see the initial survey? If you haven’t yet taken the brief survey, please take two minutes to do so.

CLICK HERE TO TAKE THE TWO-MINUTE SURVEY

Listen to episode 1 of the podcast, where editor Colleen Cross and Mike Hare of CanPipe discuss the results and more.