Innovation

Meta Cycler has come up with an idea to make the world a better place and reduce waste. The Meta Cycler team started to take action in Waterloo, Canada, in 2022. The idea was producing bioplastics and reducing waste by using renewable sources. 

Using renewable sources is the way to make the world more sustainable. Using renewable sources makes their project unique because instead of increasing the footprint of consumption. They are producing by using renewable sources; in this way, it helps to reduce the waste. From an economical perspective, producing bioplastics is an expensive process; however, Meta Cycler solution aims to use a cost-effective strategy by using renewable sources. In terms of renewable sources, Meta Cycler is using dairy waste.

Meta Cycler aimed to make the world more sustainable and a better place. They target four SDGs: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure (SDG 9), Responsible Consumption and Production (SDG 12), Life Below Water (SDG 14), Life on Land (SDG 15).  

In SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), reducing the usage of traditional plastics by producing Meta Cycler will bring a new perspective to innovation. Traditional plastics release a higher carbon footprint in the production phase. In this way, it will help to be less dependent on fossil fuels. Having a cost effective strategy and using dairy waste will bring an innovative perspective to the industry.

In SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), their solution is perfectly aligned with 12. Their main goal is to minimize the waste by using dairy waste. This will help shift consumption from traditional plastic to bioplastics.​​ Greenhouse gas emissions from bioplastics are lower than those from conventional methods.

In SDG 14 (Life Below Water) and SDG 15 (Life on Land), these two initiatives target environmental factors. Using dairy waste will reduce overall waste, directly impacting waterways, oceans, and the environment. With a reduction in plastics, we aim to see little to no plastic pollution in the oceans. All these factors are interconnected; reducing plastics in the ocean will improve water quality and fish health, which in turn will benefit soil quality. Improved soil quality will help produce and yield a higher-quality harvest. Overall, it is an essential step toward building a stronger ecosystem.

Meta Cycler BioInnovation’s innovative solution involves producing bioplastics from dairy waste, applying a cost-effective strategy to make widespread use feasible. Bioplastic is an example of bio-based plastic, and it is considered the only material that can be both marine and biodegradable. The Meta Cycler project is unique in its use of dairy waste as a raw material to produce polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA). This approach allows the company to avoid contributing to an increased carbon footprint. The bioplastic is produced through a recycling cycle.

Inspiration

The leader’s inspiration is rooted in a straightforward yet impactful idea: using one problem to solve another. As part of their PhD project, he and his colleagues have been focused on genetically engineering bacteria to convert organic waste such as dairy byproducts into PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoates), a bioplastic that’s both biodegradable and marine-degradable. This material can easily break down in the environment, addressing major issues linked to plastic pollution. Reflecting on the project, the leader shared some valuable quotes such as, “It’s creating something from nothing... converting waste into the solution to another problem,” highlighting their core focus of finding value in what is often discarded. Meaning that this project isn’t just about inventing new materials, but more than changing the way society views and utilizes its resources, transforming waste from a problem into part of the solution.

However, their motivation goes beyond just innovating; for them, it’s about creating solutions that are practical, feasible, and yet impactful. As Jonathan shared, they view research as more than a routine exercise, but more as a tool for combating real challenges and making tangible solutions. As the manager, Jhonatan, shared, “Through research, you can make an impact in society and on global issues by being open to explorative practices.” For them, their goal offers a sustainable alternative to traditional plastic, one solution that repurposes organic waste in a way that’s accessible and real. This approach keeps them targeted, even when the work becomes triggering. Their belief is that real innovation isn’t just about pushing limits; it’s about creating practical solutions that people can use daily and that leave a positive impact on the environment.

Overall impact

MetaCycler, which innovates using dairy waste to create biodegradable plastic substitutes, has shown promise in reducing single-use plastic waste. In the process, they modify bacteria and produce PHA, a biodegradable material that breaks down in soil and water. The company reached a 50% reduction in production costs in comparison to traditional methods. In fact, these bioplastics are produced at $2 per unit. 

In the short term, although their products look like they are made of traditional plastic, they decompose quickly. This keeps the attention of consumers and businesses aware of the environment.

In the long term, this solution provided by Meta Cycler could change the whole plastics industry by replacing traditional petroleum-based plastics. They would expand the company into other markets, such as food or cosmetics packaging, which would drastically reduce the overall plastic pollution. They are certain of the solution because there is research at the University of Waterloo to develop and expand this technology. The process they have patented is currently valued at $7.7 billion and expected to grow 25%. However, the impact of this approach is not only to shift the use of sustainable materials but to develop a business model that focuses on addressing waste in new ways.

Business benefit

Meta Cycler Bioinnovation is taking action to make the world a better place and contribute to the UN’s efforts to achieve the SDGs by 2030. Meta Cycler has attended international conferences and contests to spread its idea globally. In 2023, Meta Cycler joined the Velocity Cornerstone 2023 Cohort and won the Velocity $5,000 Pitch Competition. The team attended the 2023 Sustainable Plastics Conference in Los Angeles, California, where they gained valuable insights from industry professionals. They received $15,000 in funding from the Velocity Incubator and participated in the 2023 Collision Conference Alpha Startup Showcase. In 2024, Meta Cycler was awarded $200,000 from the Ontario Agri-Food Research Initiative.

Attending a wide range of conferences and competitions has expanded their network and provided valuable feedback from stakeholders, helping them refine and organize their work. In the summer of 2024, Meta Cycler hired three co-op students, increasing the team size and adding new perspectives, making it a more diverse team.

Meta Cycler is a newly founded company, so attending international conferences is essential for its growth and raising awareness. Hiring co-op students is a significant step for the team, as students bring fresh ideas and can raise awareness through their ongoing studies.

Reducing waste and implementing a cost-effective strategy are essential for society. The outcome of Meta Cycler’s project is a reduction in carbon footprint by producing bioplastics. This initiative serves as a starting point to inspire other companies to change their processes and make renewable resources more common in bioplastic production.

Social and environmental benefit

This eco-friendly solution reduces environmental damage; the main target of this new project is companies. This project is meant to encourage companies to start taking more action in the ecological aspect, expecting the customers to join the change. Companies can change people’s ideas and make them choose a more sustainable product over a harmful product to the environment.

The product is based on renewable resources such as organic waste and aims to help communities, industries, and the environment. Some of the benefits of choosing biodegradable components over harmful ones are reducing landfills by a significant amount and the possibility of creating/using eco-fuels to reduce methane emissions, a potent greenhouse gas, along with the pollution. 

The science behind their innovation relies on using PHAs (polyhydroxyalkanoates), which makes biodegradable plastic easier to break down in both land and marine environments; these break down naturally, hence minimizing waste and mitigating the effects of the microplastics on both wildlife and the human health. Using waste would also mean less necessity of virgin materials, leading to lessening the environmental footprint from having to extract the raw materials along with their different processes. 

With this innovation, it also tries to incentivise people to take action regarding environmental problems like pollution of water, air, and soil, the environmental footprint from many industrial processes, and the pollution of land and bodies of water. If companies start to adopt these new eco-friendly practices, they can influence society’s mindset, making them more aware of what the problem is and that a way to help the cause is opting for more sustainable or biodegradable options instead of the more harmful options.

Another thing to consider is the fact that if the innovation gets implemented at a big scale, the company will be helping reach the goals for the SDGs. For SDG 9 it would help to implement a new way of manufacturing for example packaging, which can lead to every business to choose a more sustainable manufacturing method; for SDG 12, the choosing of a more sustainable packaging would make society more sustainable by using a product that helps to get rid of the wastes in the environment. SDGs 14 and 15 go together as both water and land get polluted by these waste; using that waste that contaminates and turning it into a new biodegradable product will help not only the environment but also the ecosystem for animals and ultimately humans.

Interview

Jonathan Parkes, Management