![Genecis Bioindustries receives the Mind to Market Award at the Ontario Centre of Innovation [OCI] annual general meeting. Image courtesy of Lambton College.](https://media.mynewstoday.ca/i/m98Na1kr/355)
A collaborative research project between Lambton College and Genecis Bioindustries has received a provincial award.
The Mind to Market Award was presented at the Ontario Centre of Innovation [OCI] annual general meeting last month. (October 26.)
Vice President of Research and Innovation Mehdi Sheikhzadeh called it an "incredible honour for Genecis" and "confirmation of their innovative work and dedication to changing the plastic industry."
"Genecis is a biotechnology company that simply converts food waste, into biodegradable plastics and other high value materials," said Sheikzadeh. "They can convert it into something called PHA [polyhydroxyalkanoate] and they have developed the technology to do that conversion. PHA is a fundamental material block for plastics and other high value chemicals."
Sheikhzadeh said the technology is significant for a number of reasons.
"It's a sustainable material. It replaces some of the regular plastic that we know is harming the environment and, at the same time, it uses organic waste. So, it actually utilizes something that almost has no value."
He said developing a biodegradable and fully compostable plastic resin material, for large scale production, would change the industry.
"As far as we know, there is no commercialized technology in the world that provides this conversion," said Sheikhzadeh. "So, if it works on a commercial scale, it can provide a significant solution to potentially impact part of the challenges we have with respect to plastic waste."
Lambton College is helping Genecis improve the efficiency of the process so it can increase production.
"The next step for the company is to scale up the facility and secure all of the resources that are required for the commercialized operations, including the financing, the spacing, and the workforce."
The award celebrates the best of OCI supported research and development collaborations between industry and research communities that result in commercialization of Ontario-based innovative solutions.
