Yesterday, Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau announced the six finalists for the Food Waste Reduction Challenge for the Novel Technologies Stream which features two grand prizes of up to $1 million.

The finalists are:
 - ALT TEX Inc. (Kitchener, Ontario)
 - Aruna Revolution Health Inc. (Trois-Rivières, Québec)
 -  Chinova Bioworks Inc. (Fredericton, New Brunswick)
 -  Clean Works Inc. (St. Catharines, Ontario)
 - Carbon Lock Tech (Winnipeg, Manitoba)
 - Genecis Bioindustries Inc. (Scarborough, Ontario)

In January 2022, 18 semi-finalists were announced from 200 applications. 

Semi-finalists each received $100,000 to build a prototype of their innovative technology. 

After presenting the most promising ideas to an External Review Committee, the six finalists will now receive up to $450,000 each to test their technology in an operational environment 
with at least one partner. 

The overall goal is to develop diverse and innovative technologies that can prevent spoilage of pre-harvest crops, extend the shelf life of food and transform food waste into compostable bioplastics.

Bibeau says every year, Canada wastes more than half of its food supply. 

"The six finalists of the Food Waste Reduction Challenge - Novel Technologies Streams are proposing original solutions to this problem. I wish them good luck as they test their prototypes in an operational environment."

The only Prairie entry to make the final cut was Carbon Lock Tech out of Winnipeg, Manitoba.

CEO Kevin Danner says their solution is to take food waste and convert it into bio-carbon.

"It's a very valuable material that can be used in agricultural soils to reduce nutrient runoff, to hold on to moisture. It can be used in concrete and asphalt, it reduces the amount of cement that's used. It produces the amount of bitumen used. It's a filtration medium it can be used in soil remediation, it can be even turned into 3D printing ink and bioplastics.

You can learn more about Carbon Lock Technologies here.

For the list of the Novel Technologies Streams’ finalists, you can visit the Food Waste Reduction Challenge website here.