First Nation-UBC venture pilots wood foam as plastic packaging alternative
Yinka Dene Economic Development Limited Partnership (YLP), the Wet'suwet'en First Nation's business arm, and the University of British Columbia are piloting a wood-waste-based foam packaging material through their subsidiary DicinFoam at a Vancouver plant. The biodegradable "wood foam" targets plastic foam packaging such as Styrofoam and is expected to cost about 20 percent more at launch, with commercial products anticipated within roughly two years pending regulatory clearance. YLP plans a larger 1,000-tonne facility in Burns Lake, B.C. and a further 15,000-tonne plant on Vancouver Island.
Why this mattersA university-Indigenous venture signals a new biodegradable route to protective foam packaging that, if scaled, could pressure plastic foam suppliers on cost and sustainability grounds.
- DicinFoam, majority owned by YLP, runs a pilot plant in East Vancouver converting sawmill and paper-recycling wood waste into wood foam.
- The material is designed to replace Styrofoam-type plastic foam in protective packaging and thermal insulation.
- Wood foam is expected to cost about 20 percent more than plastic foam equivalents when it first reaches market.
- Proof of concept is targeted within 12 months, with commercial products expected roughly two years out, pending regulatory approval.
- A planned larger facility in Burns Lake, B.C. would produce 1,000 tonnes of biodegradable foam a year and create up to 15 jobs.
- A further proposed Vancouver Island facility would scale output to 15,000 tonnes a year, creating 35 to 60 jobs.