PhyCo Secures $25,000 Grant to Replace Farm Plastics with Seaweed Alternatives

The Canadian marine biotechnology company is developing compostable, seaweed-based alternatives to materials used on farms, including mulch film. The grant matters because the plastic burden linked to food production is largely invisible to consumers—and because PhyCo has already completed the first phase of a production-scale pilot outside Canada.

The plastic problem starts before the grocery store

The grant announcement frames agricultural plastics as a $100 billion problem. According to the reporting, an estimated 70% of plastic in the food system originates in agricultural production rather than at the retail end of the supply chain.

Much of that material is used directly in fields. Mulch film, for example, can help protect crops but is difficult to collect and recycle after use. That creates a waste stream that consumers rarely see, even though it is connected to everyday food production.

PhyCo’s proposed alternative is designed to be soil-biodegradable, non-toxic and petroleum-free. The company is making it from seaweed and working with small-scale seaweed farmers in Indigenous and other coastal communities across Canada. That supply-chain model is a significant part of the project: the technology is being developed alongside an effort to create a responsible source of raw material.

The company was founded by marine biologist Ranah Chavoshi and biotechnologist Dr. Stacey Goldberg. According to PR Newswire Canada, Chavoshi began experimenting with seaweed-based plastic during a laboratory shutdown, after earlier witnessing severe plastic pollution near a major scuba-diving destination.

The important milestone is scale, not the grant alone

The $25,000 award is unrestricted funding. In practical terms, that gives PhyCo flexibility to direct the money toward the next stage of development rather than a narrowly predefined activity.

The timing is relevant. PhyCo recently completed the first phase of an international, production-scale pilot with a partner team in Portugal. The pilot reportedly showed that the company’s process could operate at a larger scale. The team also improved yields, reduced production costs and learned how to adapt the process for new regions.

Those are the metrics that will determine whether a material can move beyond a laboratory demonstration. A compostable substitute for agricultural plastic has to do more than function in controlled conditions. It must be produced consistently, reach a competitive cost, and fit the operating realities of farmers and regional supply chains.

The available reporting does not establish that PhyCo has commercialized its material or replaced agricultural plastic at scale. It does show a progression from laboratory experimentation to an international production-scale pilot, followed by funding intended to support further development and commercialization.

What to watch next

The clearest indicator of progress will be whether PhyCo can convert the pilot results into a repeatable product for farmers. Three areas deserve attention.

First, the company will need to sustain the improved yields and lower production costs reported after the pilot. Those gains are important because a material can only reduce agricultural plastic waste if it is practical to manufacture and deploy.

Second, the supply chain will be worth tracking. PhyCo’s work with coastal and Indigenous communities links the material’s environmental proposition to how seaweed is sourced and processed. Expanding that model will test whether the company can grow without losing the responsible structure it is building.

Third, the next phase should clarify how the material performs in new regions and agricultural settings. The pilot team’s work on regional adaptation suggests that local conditions are part of the commercialization challenge.

Shift created the grant with support from Redbrick for startups, nonprofits and entrepreneurs in the United States and Canada addressing environmental or social challenges. For PhyCo, the award is modest in financial scale but targeted at a consequential bottleneck: moving a seaweed-based alternative from promising process to usable agricultural product. The near-term projection is therefore concrete rather than sweeping—more pilot work, tighter production economics and a closer test of whether farm plastic can be replaced before it ever reaches the food system.