The best way to keep a landfill clean is to prevent waste from ever reaching it.
By minimizing the need for new raw materials, which often require energy-intensive methods to extract, the circular economy can lower the carbon footprint of production.
This is the business model of Vancouver’s ChopValue.
The B.C.-based circular product solutions manufacturer is behind an urban harvesting approach that has diverted over 200 million chopsticks from landfills.
Launched in 2016, ChopValue was the brainchild of Felix Böck, a former UBC doctoral student in the faculty of forestry who studied bamboo as a building material.
The company has garnered provincial capital from InBC Investment, a strategic investment fund created by the Province of British Columbia aimed at driving financial returns alongside positive impact, as well as from private sources.
Earlier this year, ChopValue diverted its 200,000,000th chopstick from a landfill.
“Thanks to our amazing community and your support, we’ve proudly recycled 200 million chopsticks,” the company stated in January. “Together, we’ve saved an incredible 9,736,800 kgCO2e, proving the power of small actions to create big change.”
What does ChopValue do with all of these diverted chopsticks? Keeping things truly circular, the Canadian company manufactures products, such as furniture, from 100% recycled chopsticks. Using the firm’s products can help residential and commercial builders achieved LEED Certifications, among other benefits.
Last year, ChopValue was named to the Foresight 50 for the first time. Established by Foresight Canada, the annual list ranks the nation’s most investible clean technology firms.
“Your groundbreaking work in cleantech is driving innovation and playing a crucial role in building a productive, sustainable future,” Jeanette Jackson, CEO of Foresight Canada, stated at the time of the honour. “By tackling some of the world’s biggest environmental challenges, you set the stage for a clean, prosperous economy where industry and innovation work in tandem.”