Eco Guardian owners Nisha and Anil Abrol proudly show off their showroom. The company offers sustainable single-use food packaging products and has been recognized as one of Canada’s fastest-growing companies for five consecutive years (2016-2020).
By Lisa Queen Newmarket Era Saturday, May 20, 2023
Walk into Eco Guardian’s new office, and the “artwork” speaks to the success of the company.
Hanging from the lobby ceiling are stacks of upside-down cups, while bowls are in planter boxes. On the walls of the office are takeout containers and spoons.
All are compostable products.
Eco Guardian started in 2004 with an ahead-of-its-time mission to reduce the use of single-use plastic bags.
“A novelty in the 1970s, plastic shopping bags are now an omnipresent product found in every corner of the world,” according to a United Nations website.
“Produced at a rate of up to one trillion bags per year, they are showing up in the darkest depths of the ocean to the summit of Mount Everest to the polar ice caps. Being so widespread, plastic bags are intensifying some major environmental challenges.”
Almost 20 years ago, Anil Abrol founded Eco Guardian, selling reusable bags.
What was uncommon then has become mainstream today.
In fact, on Dec. 20, Ottawa will ban the manufacture and import for sale of checkout bags, cutlery, food service ware, stir sticks and straws.
From reusable bags to compostable plates following soon after, Eco Guardian is now one of Canada’s fastest-growing companies, counting among its clients Longo’s, Loblaws and Canadian Tire.
Its product line of 290 items includes containers, cutlery, napkins and trays. They decompose within weeks, fertilize and improve soil health and do not leave toxic residue, Abrol said.
The company’s growth prompted the need to move to a new location, he said.
The new office, at 100 Harry Walker Pkwy. N., is three times larger than the previous location, Abrol said.