GreenMantra Technologies in Brantford is one of three companies that will get $1 million from the federal government to help reduce plastic waste from food packaging and construction.

Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson announced the winners of his government's plastics innovation challenge, which is part of its plan to ban many single-use plastics by 2021.

Greenmantra will transform polystyrene insulation waste into new insulation. Montreal-based Axipolymer Inc. will create a recyclable food packaging film and MgO Systems from Calgary will use PVC construction waste to make new insulating materials.

On its website Greenmantra says it is "the first company in the world to upcycle post-consumer and post-industrial recycled plastics into synthetic polymers and additives that meet specific performance requirements for industrial application."

Wilkinson told the Globe 2020 business summit in Vancouver that the government is launching six new plastics challenges and three clean technology challenges.

Those challenges call on innovators to develop solutions to a number of problems related to plastic pollution including finding alternatives to packaging, diverting vehicle plastic from landfills, reducing e-waste and monitoring microplastics in marine environments.