Current plastic waste management methods are costly and harmful to the environment—and common biodegradable alternatives, like soggy paper straws, often fall short as viable replacements. MetaCycler BioInnovations is changing that by developing a bio-based plastic alternative that maintains the flexibility of traditional plastic while being 100 % biodegradable.
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The team's startup, Velocity, produces polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), a biodegradable polymer, by engineering bacteria to convert waste from milk and cheese production. This innovative process not only upcycles dairy industry byproducts but also creates a cost-effective, sustainable alternative to conventional plastics.
There is a shift towards sustainable materials like seaweed and sugarcane, but their material properties often fall short compared to conventional plastics. At MetaCycler, we extract the PHA that can be formed into pellets for plastic manufacturers to use. Our startup tackles the problem of food waste and plastic pollution in one solution.
Eugenia Dadzie, Co-Founder and Director, Communications, MetaCycler BioInnovations
Dadzie met her co-founders, Nicole LeBlanc and Aranksha Thakor, as PhD students under the supervision of Dr. Trevor Charles, a biology professor at the University of Waterloo.
MetaCycler began as a research project by Thakor in collaboration with dairy processing company Fairlife. The company approached Dr. Charles’ lab in search of innovative ways to repurpose its waste byproducts. Recognizing the commercial potential of Thakor’s work, Dr. Charles brought together a team with shared expertise in molecular biology. Alongside Jonathan Parkes, a Ph.D. student from the University of Guelph, they co-founded MetaCycler.
In just two years, MetaCycler has secured funding from United College’s GreenHouse Social Impact incubator, Waterloo’s Velocity incubator, and other university programs. In September 2024, Dadzie and LeBlanc joined the inaugural Entrepreneurial PhD Fellowship program at the Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business, where they are working to commercialize MetaCycler’s sustainable plastic solutions while continuing their doctoral studies.
“Waterloo’s strength in research and innovation has become very central to my academic journey. Although I’m on a different career path than I originally envisioned, I enjoy being in an environment that encourages you to think outside the box, and it changed the way I saw entrepreneurship,” Dadzie added.
MetaCycler exemplifies how scientific research can lead to real-world impact, addressing both plastic pollution and food waste in a single, scalable solution.
The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs awarded MetaCycler $200,000 in funding to support the pilot and demonstration of its bio-based plastic production. The team is also collaborating with Dairy Farmers of Ontario to expand its network of producers and processors, securing additional dairy industry waste as a feedstock for its sustainable materials.
Turning food waste into a new bioplastic | #GlobalFutures #UWaterloo #shorts
Video Credit: University of Waterloo