William Dennis and Dr. Yeling Zhu

B.C. researchers have created a pulpy alternative to plastic packaging foam, a product that makes use of logging waste that’s often left behind and can fuel forest fires. Dubbed “wood foam,” the plastic packaging alternative was developed at the University of British Columbia (UBC), and up to 200 kilograms a day is being produced at a pilot plant in East Vancouver. The company at the helm, DicinFoam, is majority owned by the Wet’suwet’en First Nation’s business arm. “We’ve made it from low-value pulp, wood fibres, and forestry residues,” said Yale Zhu, the company’s chief technology officer. “What we’re trying to do is we want to extract the majority of the value out of it and make it into our day-to-day packaging needs.” Zhu said the goal is to create a substitute to polystyrene, or packaging foam, which is among plastic pollutants found on Canadian shorelines, harbours or recreational areas, and shipping routes.