Five organizations will receive a total of $4.5 million
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
The federal government is investing in multiple organizations designed to help them with climate-friendly ag plastics project.
On Monday, Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau announced five organizations will receive a total of $4.5 million to use towards ag plastics management and innovation.
These investments “will go a long way to help Canadian farmers reduce plastic and adopt plant-based plastics for their operations,” Bibeau said during a press conference Monday morning.
Ontario’s Cleanfarms will receive up to $1.1 million of the funding – the most of the five recipients.
Cleanfarms will use its portion of the investments to help Canadian farmers access recycling programs and explore ways to deliver permanent programs.
In 2020 and with the help of the ag industry, Cleanfarms diverted about 6,000 tonnes of ag plastics away from landfills. That figure represents about 10 per cent of the total volume of ag plastics used on Canadian farms, said Barry Friesen, executive director of Cleanfarms.
This federal investment will allow the industry and Cleanfarms to continue this work.
“The funding announced today is going to allow Cleanfarms and Canadian farmers to do more,” he said during the press conference. “To keep more plastic out of the environment and to recycle more ag plastics into new products. This will help ensure farmland is protected for future generations.”
The other four recipients are:
- EcoEnviro Labs Inc. out of Beaverton, Ont. will receive up to $1 million to continue testing organic bioplastic mulch made from poultry feathers.
- Titan Clean Energy Projects Corp. from Craik, Sask. will receive up to $1 million to test food-grade quality bioplastic which biodegrades faster than current packaging options.
- TerraVerdae Bioworks Inc. out of Edmonton, Alta. will receive up to $ 1million to develop a new generation of biodegradable bioplastic film and injection molded products.
- Red Leaf Pulp Ltd. from Saskatoon, Sask. will receive up to $495,000 to research and test a straw pulp bio-polymer for use within the food and pulp industry.