10/10/2025
Friendlier, a local startup tackling Canada’s single-use plastic problem head-on, recently closed a $4.5 million dollar funding round. The company, founded in 2019 by University of Waterloo alumni Jacqueline Hanton (BASc ’20) and Kayli Smith (BASc ’20), has raised a total of $10 million and kept almost 3.7 million food and beverage containers out of landfills.
With operations at more than 200 locations in Ontario, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Manitoba and Quebec, Friendlier is swiftly building a national presence. The latest funding will expand business operations across more of the country with investments in new technologies, infrastructure and logistics — helping Canadians reduce their plastic waste even further by making reuseable choices easier and more accessible.
“Canada is one of the leaders in the circular economy space globally. People are looking at Canada to see what is being done,” Hanton says. “At Friendlier, we are pushing the needle, making reuse the norm.”
More: https://uwaterloo.ca/news/engineering-alumni/building-business-attracts-funders-and-protects-planet |