The Ontario government has kicked in $500,000 to support Greenlid’s project to build a manufacturing facility in the province.

The funding, which is being provided through the Southwestern Ontario Development Fund, was announced on August 12, and supports Greenlid’s planned $14.8-million investment in the facility.

“This investment from Greenlid is another vote of confidence in Ontario’s economy and shows there is no better place for business to grow and workers to thrive,” said Premier Doug Ford. “We are thrilled to support this made-in-Ontario success story and to see Greenlid’s entire supply chain return home.”

Based in Dundalk, Greenlid produces compostable products, primarily one-time-use items such as plates, bowls, coffee cups, and lids. Currently, its manufacturing is done in China. It plans to build a 60,000-square foot facility in Dundalk and bring its production and supply chain back to Ontario. The new facility will include all the equipment necessary to manufacture the company’s products, as well as capacity for ongoing research and innovation.

"Greenlid is excited to expand and build manufacturing operations in rural Ontario after rapid growth in the past several years,” said CEO Morgan Wyatt. “Greenlid supplies over 14,000 retail stores across North America with truly compostable product lines in the tableware and foodservice categories. With the support of the Ontario government, Greenlid's state of the art Non-wood Fibre Manufacturing and Innovation Centre at Southgate EcoPark will now specialize in developing Ontario’s agricultural fibre waste into high value compostable products with less impact on the environment."

Founded in Toronto in 2014, Greenlid developed a patented compostable material as a replacement for plastic or biodegradable materials. Its technology led to an investment through the television program Dragon’s Den.

As part of the government’s work to build the economy, Ontario is investing more than $100 million through the Regional Development Program from 2019 to 2023 to help meet regional needs. The program provides cost-shared funding to businesses, municipalities and economic development organizations to help attract investment, diversify their economies and create jobs.

Since 2019, Ontario has invested $66 million in 60 companies and organizations like Greenlid through the Regional Development Program. These investments have supported $716 million in investment from industry and created more than 1,200 jobs.