B.C. fund cuts plastic pollution: minister

DELTA, B.C. - British Columbia is increasing funding incentives for businesses to $10 million to develop products to reduce plastic pollution.

Environment Minister George Heyman says the province is a North American leader in plastic recycling and the government's CleanBC Plastic Action Fund is looking for more innovations to cut plastic pollution.

He says the province provided funding last year to businesses for nine plastic reduction projects that included turning old car batteries into new ones and using artificial intelligence to sort plastics at recycling facilities.

Today @KahlonRav and I visited Plascon in Delta to learn about how they used last year’s funding to create the first child-safe cannabis container made from 100% recycled plastic.

We are adding $10 million to that fund to boost the circular economy in BC https://t.co/zK9H94mVxL https://t.co/vOS3YqFmNz

— George Heyman (@GeorgeHeyman) August 9, 2022

Heyman says B.C. companies are already looking to expand plastics-related recycling opportunities that include electric vehicle batteries, mattresses and medical equipment.

Clark Chow, president of B.C.-based Plascon Plastics, told a news conference the government funding helped the company create the first child-safe cannabis container made from 100 per cent recycled plastic.

The projects to be selected for the funding will be based on their ability to reduce the use of new plastic or increase the use of post-consumer recycled plastic.