Ontario Construction News staff writer
The federal government will give $1 million each to three companies developing technologies to address plastic waste from food packaging and construction.
Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson announced the winners of his government’s plastics innovation challenge at the Globe 2020 business summit in Vancouver last week. The program is part of its plan to ban many single-use plastics by 2021.
One of the winners is GreenMantra Technologies in Brantford. Funding will help the company transform polystyrene insulation waste into new insulation
The other two winners are:
MgO Systems from Calgary will use PVC construction waste to make new insulating materials
Montreal-based Axipolymer Inc. will create a recyclable food packaging film
Wilkinson also announced the launch of six new Plastics Challenges and three Clean Technology Challenges, through the Innovative Solutions Canada program.
These nine new challenges call on Canadian innovators to develop solutions to:
- Find sustainable alternatives to plastic packaging,
- Reduce plastic waste from textiles,
- Divert end-of-life vehicles’ plastic from landfills,
- Reduce e-waste,
- Seek solutions for air purification,
- Monitor microplastics in marine environments,
- Recycling plastic into ceiling tiles,
- Develop waste conversion techniques,
- Develop energy producing window coverings.
The minister says boosting clean technology development is part of his government’s approach to achieve a future with zero plastic waste.
“Clean technology must be part of the solution to plastic pollution. Boosting clean technology development to address plastic pollution is part of our comprehensive approach to achieve a zero plastic waste future,” he said.
“The Government of Canada has committed nearly $19 million to fund Canadian innovators through the Canadian Plastics Innovation Challenge initiative, which results in real, Canadian-made solutions.”