Victoria Company Supported by $50,000 From CleanBC Plastics Action Fund
VICTORIA – Flipside Plastics has been putting $50,000 from the provincial CleanBC Plastics Action Fund to good use.
The Victoria start-up, which focuses on micro-recycling and manufacturing, is using the funding it received in the spring to support its pilot project to gather and process plastic waste and “upcycle” it into new products for sale on Vancouver Island.
Recipients of the funding provide at least one-third of eligible costs towards the total cost of the projects, which must be completed by Dec. 31, 2021. Projects were chosen based on their ability to increase processing capacity, increase the use of post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic in manufacturing or support PCR plastic product research, design and testing.
Flipside Plastics founder Laska Pare
“The circular economy in B.C. shows great promise for economic recovery, reducing emissions and recycling plastics into new products,” said Jill Doucette, executive director of the Synergy Foundation, a Victoria-based non-profit that supports the administration of the fund. “In B.C., we have incredible industry leaders in plastic recycling, and this support will help take their efforts to the next level.”
Laska Pare founded Flipside Plastics in 2017 and is the “Chief Vision Officer” of the company, which supports the entire recycling process on Vancouver Island under one roof – from sourcing, collection, sorting and shredding, all the way to creating new plastic products.
The company website states: “Normally, the recycling process is done in stages and involves shipping to multiple stakeholders off the island in hopes it gets recycled someplace else.
“Having a full-cycle centre on the island means eliminating the extra time, energy, greenhouse gases and cost it requires to see the process through elsewhere. It also ensures integrity behind each step of the process, and that all materials that come through our facilities are beneficially recycled into new retail products – closing the loop.”
The Fund disperses $5 million to encourage innovative technologies to turn used plastics into new products, support the circular economy for plastics and increase local processing capacity for recycling and create new jobs. The funded projects will replace or recycle over 20,000 tons of plastic per year.
Global plastics recycling generates an estimated $75 billion a year through major companies committed to using more recycled content to reduce plastics.
