RBC, 3M and Mannington to recycle building wrap that changed the city skyline during Vancouver 2010
VANCOUVER, March 24 /CNW/ - RBC and 3M Canada announced that the wrap of the 36-storey Royal Centre in downtown Vancouver will begin coming down today to be recycled into high-recycled-content commercial flooring tile.
The façade of the Royal Centre at the corner of Burrard and West Georgia streets, which featured an iconic photograph of Canadian Olympic Women's Freestyle Skier Kristi Richards flying through the air, instantly became a tourist attraction and the subject of hundreds of photographs taken by tourists and visiting Olympic athletes.
"The image of Kristi Richards in mid-flight clearly struck a chord with our clients, employees, our Vancouver downtown community, and thousands of visitors during the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games," said Graham MacLachlan, RBC Regional President for B.C. "We are pleased that the wrap was a part of people's photographs and memories from Vancouver 2010, and that it will continue to have value beyond the Games as recycled building material."
Richards is part of the RBC Olympians program and the Royal Centre is the regional headquarters for RBC and home to its main bank branch in Vancouver. As a long standing supporter of the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Teams, RBC was premier national partner of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and helped showcase Olympic and Paralympic sport as presenting partner of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Torch Relays.
The Royal Centre wrap was the largest of its kind in Canada measuring 115.8 metres high and 33.8 metres wide (380 feet x 111 feet). The Tower wrap measured 3,918.7 square metres (42,180 square feet) and the wrap of the building's Atrium was 648.3 square metres (6,978 square feet). The wrap consisted of two applications: the windows were covered with 3M Scotchcal Perforated Window Graphic Film, and the concrete was covered with 3M Scotchcal Graphic Film for Textured Surfaces both provided by 3M Canada.
"3M's graphics helped RBC celebrate its Olympic sponsorship by creating a dramatic visual impact at the Games," said Richard Chartrand, vice-president, display and graphics business, 3M Canada. "We developed this recycling program to help limit environmental impact after the Games and we're very pleased to see RBC is a part of this initiative. This recycling program represents a significant step in the right direction for the graphics industry."
After the materials have been removed, they will be consolidated and shipped to Mannington, a leading flooring manufacturer based in New Jersey. There they will be ground up and incorporated as a binding agent in limestone tiles. Leveraging its experience in repurposing various building materials into hard surface flooring, Mannington developed the first known way of recycling post-use adhesive-backed graphic materials.
Crews will work for approximately seven days to remove and collect the wrap materials so they can be recycled properly.
About RBC
RBC is recognized among the world's financial, social and environmental leaders and is listed on the 2009-2010 Dow Jones Sustainability World Index and the DJSI North American Index. RBC has been named one of Canada's Greenest Employers, one of Canada's Best Diversity Employers, one of Canada's 50 Most Socially Responsible Corporations and one of the Best Workplaces in Canada. RBC is also listed on the Jantzi Social Index, the FTSE4Good Index, and the Canadian Carbon Disclosure Project Leadership Index. As one of Canada's largest corporate donors, RBC supports a broad range of community initiatives, through donations, sponsorships and employee volunteer activities. In 2009, RBC contributed more than $105 million to community causes worldwide, through donations of more than $52.6 million, and an additional $52.5 million in sponsorship of community events and national organizations.
About 3M Canada
Established in 1951, 3M Canada Company was one of the first international subsidiaries opened by 3M and remains one of the largest. 3M Canada's head office and original manufacturing site is in London, Ontario where approximately half of the company's 1,800 employees work. Other Ontario plants are located in Toronto, Brockville, and Perth with one in Morden, Manitoba. Sales offices are located in major cities nationwide and a national service network supports customers.
3M and Scotchcal are trademarks of 3M. Used under licence in Canada.
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For further information: For further information: For media queries: RBC Media Relations, Christie Smith, (604) 665-4031, [email protected]; 3M Canada, Jacqui Newell, Public Relations Coordinator, 1-800-265-1840 ext. 2564, (519) 451-2500 ext. 2564, [email protected]
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