A disposable mask that will be worn for a while may soon make its way into the compost bin.

A private, not-for-profit R&D center has developed an entirely designed prototype out of biodegradable plastics and wood fibers with a federal grant of $ 3.3 million.

FPInnovations, a specialist in the Canadian forestry sector, claims its mask has an 85% filtration efficiency.

“Our dream is for Canadian companies to take this up and start producing. The solution is there, it is financially acceptable,” points out the head of the nonprofit organization (NPO), Stephan Reno.

The mask was designed on a paper machine at NPO laboratories. Now, for it to be mass produced, companies have to step up.

“Regarding mask assembly, it can be done tomorrow morning,” says Mr. Reno.

Forest Partners at FPInnovations will have priority, but any company that wants to produce it can do business with the NPO.

Because the mask is made using paper machines, the manufacturer can produce “several million a day,” says the head of FPInnovations.

Doubts

Which fertilizer plant accepts these masks? “It takes the industrial fertilization conditions that Montreal has, but not Ottawa, for example,” says Mr. Reno.

Karel Menard, of Quebec’s Joint Front for Environmental Waste Management, compares it to biodegradable plastic bags. It created a lot of confusion and problems. It is impossible to distinguish one biodegradable bag from another. ”

Maynard worries that FPInnovations mask might encounter the same problem. “I am sure that the composting center that receives the masks, and its first instinct, will be to remove them, because they will be contaminated,” he believes.