A Mohawk College graduate who invented a way to recycle diapers has won a prestigious Premier’s Award, representing Mohawk in a province-wide competition that acknowledges outstanding college graduates. Marlene Conway, a graduate of Mohawk’s Marketing (’79) and Business Administration (’86) programs, was presented with the award at the Annual Premier’s Awards Dinner in Ottawa this past February, by Education Minister Dave Johnson. 

The awards honour one outstanding graduate in each of the areas of Applied Arts, Business, Health Sciences and Technology. Each of Ontario’s 25 colleges can nominate one graduate from each of the four areas of study who have demonstrated career success and have made an important contribution to society. 

Conway has spent the last nine years developing environmental strategies to recycle, among other things, diapers and other personal care products. With no formal scientific training, Conway has pioneered a patented process that separates a diapers wood pulp from its superabsorbent polymer and allows both the more than five million tonnes of diaper waste accumulating each year in North America. 

Conway invented the diaper recycling process when she was a struggling single mother. “Diapers were what I knew best at that point,” she says. “And as my college instructors used to say, develop a business around something you know.” She was able to persuade huge corporations such as Beloit and Ecolab, DuPont and Proctor & Gamble to put up more than $15 million dollars in equipment, cash and engineering services to fund her efforts. 

Conway is not preparing to turn other environmental nightmares into corporate opportunities. Last year, Marlene opened a research, development, and education facility in Hamilton, which houses Envirolutions, her newly founded company. Envirolutions will not only help her continue her research and development strategies, but will also support outside businesses in their environmental efforts. Envirolutions will be tackling such challenges as the zebra mussel problem; “Medwaste”, the development of a process to recycle medical products; “Ecowaste”, a process for recycling industrial waste water for internal industry reuse; and “Agrilizer”, a soil additive product that uses the superabsorbent polymer from personal care products to produce a leaf compost accelerator and time released fertilizer. Envirolutions has also set up converting facilities capable of producing oil-sorbent boom products, which will be used to clean up and contain marine oil spills. 

“My Mohawk education gave me the sound business foundation and confidence to face any business challenge head on,” Ms. Conway says. “I’m thrilled to share this award with the college.” 

Conway is Mohawk’s third graduate in four years to receive the honour. Other alumni to receive the prestigious award include Amos Key, Communication Arts ’71 who won in the category of Applied Arts in 1994, and Raymond Simmons, Electronic Engineering Technology ’78, the 1996 Technology winner. 

The Premier’s Award includes a $5,000 bursary which Conway has chosen to give to Mohawk College to be used as an endowment fund for bursaries and awards to Mohawk students. 

This story was originally published in Summer 1998 of the Mohawk Alumni In Touch magazine.