Canada (Commonwealth Union) – Plastic pollution remains a serious global challenge. The common use of plastic in most parts of our lives has made the shift to biodegradable products less feasible. However, with greater awareness of its environmental impact, together with economic factors and research into to new biodegradable products is making the shift more feasible.
A new biodegradable packing foam produced by the University of British Columbia (UBC) could possibly tackle the world’s plastic pollution issue while serving as an equal partnership example by working with First Nations. Dr. Jiang, an assistant professor in the UBC faculty of forestry and the Canada Research Chair in Sustainable Functional Biomaterials, commenced the production of a “biofoam” many years back to utilize wood waste and lower packaging foam pollution.
“Styrofoam waste fills up to 30 per cent of global landfills and can take more than 500 years to break down. Our biofoam breaks down in the soil in a couple of weeks, requires little heat and few chemicals to make, and can be used as substitute for packaging foams, packing peanuts and even thermal insulation boards,” said Dr. Jiang.
He further explained that the project also assists in repurposing wood waste that is regularly left behind following tree harvesting. Dr. Jiang also stated that under 50% of harvested trees utilized for the wood industry are resulting in them left behind in the forest which is a potential fuel for wildfires.
The first year of the project saw Dr. Jiang meet Reg Ogen and Joe Wong, executives at Wet’suwet’en First Nation’s Yinka Dene Economic Development Limited Partnership, at an event conducted by the Ministry of Forests’ Innovation, Bioeconomy and Indigenous Opportunities Branch, leading to a collaboration. Ogen stated that they were attempting to form an economy of what was remaining after wildfire destruction that resulted from the mountain pine beetle epidemic in the 1990s and early 2000s. He also expressed his concern on over 50% of timber left behind in forests and the loss of habitats, water quality and species.
