Erica Canaia is passionate about recycling, supporting parents

Since having her baby during the desolation of the COVID-19 pandemic, Erica Canaia is dedicated to seeing that no other working parent goes without support. Family is important to the Fimic CEO — the granddaughter of company founder Antonio Canaia and the daughter of Rosanna Fabris and Antonio Canaia, who also been involved with the recycling machinery maker. In recent years, she’s been busy hyping sustainability and developing Mater Novissima (New Mother), her approach to accommodating new parents in accordance with Italy’s generous leave policy. In an email exchange with Karen Hanna, Plastics Machinery & Manufacturing senior staff reporter, she discussed the project, as well as her thoughts on the slickly produced “Are you R” European recycling promotional campaign and being named Plastics Recycling Ambassador of the Year by Plastics Recycling Awards Europe" earlier this year. 

How did you get your start in the family business? When did you begin working for Fimic?  

Canaia: I studied law, but as I progressed, my perspective on justice evolved. I began to question whether I should continue in the profession. I've always had a strong relationship with my family, and seeing my parents work together successfully for over 35 years, creating a vital synergy for the company, inspired me. I decided to join them, offering fresh input to support and contribute to the family business. There was a great product, but it wasn’t being offered outside Italy, so I began traveling the world with a briefcase under my arm, studying plastic recycling. My efforts included analyzing competitors, attending international trade shows and events, and building an agent and customer network. 

What was your first role/work experience with the company? 

Canaia: When I decided I wanted to work at Fimic, I knew nothing about plastics, recycling or mechanics. I began by organizing the office, archiving every paper and creating a digital backup of everything. During this process, I came up with the idea of creating an official brochure and website. Then, I went to the warehouse and worked on packing boxes with our customers' orders while also conducting an inventory of every spare part we had. 

I continued without knowing where this path would lead me. At that time, the important thing was that I was being useful. Months later, the only sales manager at Fimic invited me to join her at NPE in Orlando, Fla. It was my first exhibition, and it was then and there that my life changed forever. I discovered sales, how to explain our machines and what was truly important for recyclers. At 26 years old, I fell in love with the plastic recycling industry, and the rest is history. 

When I started at the company in 2011, we sold six machines a year; now, we sell 80. The team has grown from four people to [about] 55, and our turnover has increased from 600,000 euros to 21 million in 2022. 

How did you grow the company so dramatically? How much growth do you foresee? 

Canaia: After participating in various trade shows and performing installations, I had a better understanding of the industry's needs. I believed in our product from Day 1 and knew we had to share it with the world. So, I developed a strategy with bold marketing and a determined sales plan. 

Our unwavering belief in what we do and the courage to risk being different were game-changers for us.  

How much growth do I foresee for the future? Well, for Fimic, the sky is the limit. 

What are the biggest technological improvements you’ve seen in your career?  
Canaia: The most significant technological advances are related to automating processes, improving material recovery and optimizing operations, because these improvements have helped reduce waste, conserve resources and create a circular economy that makes recycling easier, more efficient and more sustainable. 

Why is sustainability important to you? 

Canaia: For me, recycling is a mission. When I started many years ago in 2011, I didn't have any idea about the efforts recyclers put into improving recycling and [avoiding] waste in general into the environment. I'm focusing on this mission with my 4-year-old son, teaching him the importance of avoiding waste in all forms — from water and trash to reusing everything we have in our lives. 

How feasible is a truly circular economy when it comes to plastics? What's holding us back?  

Canaia: A truly circular economy for plastics, where materials are reused, recycled and kept in circulation, is an ambitious but feasible goal. Achieving this vision will depend on a combination of technological innovation, policy support, and shifts in both industry practices and consumer habits. The path forward involves collaboration across the entire value chain, from plastic producers to consumers, recyclers and policymakers, to create a system where plastics can be reused and recycled in a continuous loop, minimizing waste and environmental impact. 

In Fimic, we are avoiding any waste during our activities. That can be wasting water or disposable coffee cups, so we have our ceramic cups to drink coffee, because, as you know, ltalians drink a lot of coffee during the day and we prefer to avoid in this case [single-] use or the bio-[based materials that might not be biodegradable]. We take in consideration [the circular] economy every day when we research and develop new products. We think deeply if every single product will make the difference in the circular economy or not; if not, we are not going to produce products that we think are not ethical. 

What is “Are you R”, and why are you involved in it? 

Canaia: “Are you R” is a European project aimed at increasing public awareness of the importance of plastics recycling. “Are you R” was created under the will of some Italian companies, which have been operating in the field of production of recycling machinery for many years — Fimic, Filtec, Gamma Meccanica [and]  Tecnofer — along with Plastics Recyclers Europe. And that’s not all: “Are you R” was immediately supported by a lot of national and foreign companies who embraced the values and the goals of this project. 

The idea of this project is not only to raise consumer awareness of plastics recycling, but also to show less-known technical aspects of the recycling process, in addition to raise awareness of a material that is commonly demonized, simply because, actually, little is known about it. 

“Are you R” aims not only to raise awareness in the European population about plastics recycling, but also to make them use it consciously. For this reason, we talk about the evolution, the use and the recycling of plastics from various points of view. We involve not only the population, but also the production companies, so this project can become a real conversation-and-debate platform among citizens. 

You were named Plastics Recycling Awards Europe's Plastics Recycling Ambassador of the Year earlier this year. What does that mean to you?  

Canaia: Being named Plastics Recycling Awards Europe's Plastics Recycling Ambassador of the Year is an incredible honor and a testament to the hard work and dedication I've put into advancing sustainable practices in the plastics industry. It recognizes not only my efforts but also the collective impact of everyone committed to driving positive change in plastic recycling. This award motivates me to continue pushing the boundaries of innovation, raising awareness and fostering collaboration within the industry to create a truly circular economy for plastics. It’s a reminder of the importance of our mission and the responsibility we all share in protecting our planet for future generations. 

In my opinion, [the] plastic recycling industry should be speaking louder, because we have the information and knowledge to identify when companies are applying greenwashing actions, like [producing] products that are not recyclable at all but promote them [as] recyclable just by [applying] a label. We need to demonstrate to people, to the consumer, that a product is or is not recyclable.  

This is what we needed to do, to share our knowledge with the people and demonstrate what is fake and what is true. Educate and tell the truth about plastic; it’s not an evil destructive material as it has been demonized. 

What big changes are in Fimic's future? What would you like to achieve? What challenges do you see? 

Canaia: My most important challenge is my team. l'm trying to create a company that is really working together. Together means considering the needs of others within the team. 

We all need to be satisfied about what we are doing and feel that we are part of something big, that is a company. I prefer to have happy people in Fimic. When someone is not happy, I try to understand why and help them; if I can’t do anything for them, I prefer for them to change positions outside Fimic, because we need people to feel happy and satisfied of the work they are doing inside our company. Same approach to our customers — we care about their satisfaction and experience with Fimic. I like to know our customers’ needs and identify how we can really take care of them. 

You've posted on social media  about being both a mother and an industry executive. What do you think people need to know about taking on both those roles at once? 

Canaia: Balancing the roles of both a mother and an entrepreneur is undoubtedly challenging, but it’s also incredibly rewarding and empowering. The skills you develop — resilience, time management, adaptability — are valuable not just in business, but in life as a whole. With the right mindset, support and tools, it’s possible to thrive as both a mother and an entrepreneur. 

How did having a child in the midst of the pandemic change you? 

Canaia: This question is extremely relevant for the creation of the project Mater Novissima, giving birth in the middle of the pandemic shrouded in the loneliness that only new mums of 2020 and 2021 can understand. So, I decided to go deeper and research the circumstances of the thousands of women who were in my same situation, and was met with an even bleaker reality: taboos and voluntary resignation from work. 

How could industry do a better job accommodating mothers? 

Canaia: To better support young mothers in the workforce, there are several strategies that can be implemented. Offering flexible work arrangements, such as adjustable hours and part-time options, allows mothers to manage their professional and personal responsibilities more effectively. In addition, adopting generous and inclusive parental leave policies that exceed minimum legal requirements can provide crucial support during the early stages of parenting. Providing affordable child-care solutions, such as on-site facilities or partnerships with local providers, can significantly ease the financial and logistical burdens on working mothers. Lastly, creating a supportive work culture that prioritizes work-life balance and openly encourages the participation of parents can help young mothers feel more accepted and less isolated in their roles. 

Tell me about Mater Novissima. 

Canaia: I [came] up with a model to prevent business disruptions and, at the same time, assist women on their journey to become parents. The focus of action is on the pre-pregnancy timeline. While in the traditional timeline, the employee doesn't disclose her intention to have children to her employer and, once pregnant, keeps the news secret until the end of the first trimester, leading to limited time to handle the recruitment of a new candidate. At this stage, there are only four months left to [fill the role left by the prospective mother when she takes maternity leave]: publish the ad, make the selection, find the right candidate, wait for the notice period, proceed with induction into the company and start training. The traditional timeline, therefore, doesn't enable the company to optimally use the time prior to the leave, forcing it into hasty procedures that often negatively affect the quality of work and set the stage for disruptions. 

The Fimic timeline has a different approach, where the employee-employer relationship is based on respect and total transparency. In this way, any woman who wants to have children communicates this to her employer before she starts trying to conceive, allowing the company time to reorganize its activities in anticipation of her absence and handle this time without stress. 

The activities undertaken by the company to manage the employee's future absence are pre-empted, laying the foundations for mindful, deliberate actions. 

Communication walls — patterns that are currently detrimental in the workplace — are broken down, moving toward an open-dialogue management model. Rights are reclaimed, and stereotypes of top management as unsympathetic or heartless are dismantled. It's [a] two-way effort, which must be concrete and genuine on both sides; otherwise, the mistakes of the past will be for nothing.  

Mater Novissima is based on practical insights that aim to find effective and concrete solutions to meet the needs of parents-to-be. Mater Novissima doesn't just facilitate the management of the pre-pregnancy timeline, but focuses on implementing tangible actions to support both parents. Before and after birth. 

This is why a specially designed care system was created, where for the first three years of the baby's life, new parents are guaranteed effective support. 

At the birth of their first child, Fimic employees have access to welfare credit and day care for the children. For new mothers, the company provides a welfare credit to support child-care costs to help them at the often-challenging time of returning to work; while for new fathers, Fimic grants a welfare credit to cover the cost of absence from the workplace for family-related reasons. 

This not only helps the whole family, but also gives new fathers the opportunity to be present and actively involved in the first months of their child's life. 

What do you like to do outside work? 

Canaia: Outside of work, I enjoy spending quality time with my family or simply taking a walk in nature. Being outside helps me recharge and stay connected to the environment I'm passionate about protecting. I also love reading, particularly on topics related to sustainability and innovation, as it keeps me inspired and informed. I love to identify areas for improvement and acquire new knowledge or skills. 

What would you like your legacy to be?  

Canaia: Excellent financial performance and ambitious technological developments are not enough. We must operate sustainably over time and respond to society's evolving needs. This commitment includes protecting the environment through plastic recycling and reuse, embracing the principles of a circular economy. Our journey combines technological innovation with cultural transformation, all in pursuit of a more sustainable future. My mission is raising public awareness of the importance and benefits of plastic recycling, to inspire changes in everyday habits that contribute to a sustainable world.