In our everyday lives, we often see a linear pattern: make, use, and then toss away. Our world faces challenges like climate change, disappearing animal habitats, and shortages of essential resources like clean water, all due to this wasteful cycle. Yet, a better solution is emerging that taps into biology and engineering to change the game – a circular bioeconomy.

Picture this: instead of throwing things away, what if we could transform garbage into something valuable? This idea might sound like science fiction, but it’s becoming a reality thanks to incredible scientific breakthroughs. Envision microbes that eat waste and turn it into useful stuff that we can use in our daily lives. This shift from a straight-line unsustainable process to a circle where waste becomes a resource is game-changing. It can help us reduce the need for landfills, keep our environment clean, and even replace products that harm the planet with more eco-friendly alternatives.

Guess what? More than 65% of the things we make could be created using these biological processes combined with recycling waste. This isn’t just good for the environment; it’s also a fantastic opportunity to create new jobs and help care for our planet simultaneously.

Recognizing the importance of this revolutionary approach, Ontario Genomics has developed WasteCANcreate Upcycling Consortium. This is like a team of superheroes, but instead of capes, they’re armed with brilliant ideas and innovative solutions. The consortium has three main parts: first, they use food waste like leftovers or byproducts; second, they use specially engineered tiny organisms and powerful enzymes; third, they work with companies that can test these new materials to make real products.

Thanks to support from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ontario Genomics and industry partners, the consortium has made incredible strides. We’re working on how to take food waste and leftovers from ethanol (a fuel from corn) production and turn them into things like biodegradable plastics. Imagine your food scraps turning into something good for the earth! And that’s not all – we’re also creating alternatives to materials like nylon, which is traditionally harmful to the environment.

What’s next for this exciting journey? The team aims to take these lab-tested ideas and turn them into full-scale processes that can be used in large scale manufacturing facilities. We aim to achieve this milestone over the next year, all while sharing our knowledge with others and building the tools we need to make these changes stick. It’s a giant leap forward in using biology and science to make the world cleaner, greener, and more sustainable for all of us.

The next time you’re about to throw something away, think – what if this waste could be transformed into something amazing? Thanks to these ingenious minds and their dedication, our trash might just become the treasure that saves the planet.