MaRS, a organization that help Canadian start-up companies frown into successful companies, recently released its list of the top 21 Canadian tech entrepreneurs to watch in 2021.  Included in the list are the CEO’s from two recycling companies – GreenMantra and Li-Cycle Corp.

Jodie Morgan, CEO, GreenMantra

Markets have been plagued by uncertainty this year, but cleantech investors can nevertheless rely on the proven practice of recycling materials into sustainable products, so says GreenMantra CEO Jodie Morgan. How fortunate, then, that Morgan and her Brantford company are one of Canada’s top post-consumer, post-industrial plastics recycling firms — morphing one of the most problematic innovations in history into things like asphalt shingles, wax and ink. As a member of MaRS Momentum, GreenMantra is also one of the country’s fastest-growing firms, with sales increasing so rapidly in 2020 that the startup expanded its manufacturing facility and doubled capacity.

What’s next: If “plastic is the new crude oil,” then Morgan and her employees are going to be busy well past next year. GreenMantra is working with petrochemical companies NOVA Chemicals and Inter Pipeline to develop new ways of enhancing asphalt. The positive environmental impact could be huge, particularly when you consider that 1,000 kilometres of paved road, for example, represents up to 2.7 billion plastic bags removed from a landfill.

Ajay Kochhar, CEO and co-founder of Li-Cycle

As climate-focused initiatives become a bigger priority, homegrown companies are looking to contribute in their own unique way. “Canada aims to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, and clean technology will play a massive role in this transition away from emissions,” says Ajay Kochhar, CEO and co-founder of Li-Cycle. Based in Mississauga, Li-Cycle recovers more than 80 percent of all materials found in lithium-ion batteries through their environmentally sound recycling plants.

What’s next: Having recently announced a Series C equity funding round, the company is looking to expand their services into the U.S. and open a commercial hub in New York.