Shift, a customizable browser, awards PhyCo, a marine biotechnology company, as the recipient of its second annual $25,000 USD Shift Impact Grant.
PhyCo was selected for its work taking on the agricultural plastics problem, with a estimated 70 per cent of plastic in the food system coming from agricultural production, PhyCo is working to replace these materials with compostable alternatives made from seaweed.
The company works with seaweed farmers in Indigenous and coastal communities across Canada in an attempt to build a responsible supply chain.
“Most people think food-related plastic starts at the grocery store, but much of it is used on farms long before food reaches the shelf,” said Ranah Chavoshi, co-founder and CEO of PhyCo Technologies. “We started PhyCo to develop a soil-biodegradable, non-toxic and petroleum-free alternative from seaweed, working in partnership with Indigenous communities. The Shift Impact Grant will help us move that work beyond the lab and get a practical, compostable solution closer to the farmers who need it.”
Founded by marine biologist Ranah Chavoshi and biotechnologist Dr. Stacey Goldberg, PhyCo looks to use the grant to move towards commercialization and expand its work with coastal communities following a recent production-scale pilot with a partner in Portugal.
