Chang Dong is the Chief Technology Officer of Canadian green technology start-up Erthos Inc. Originally from China, Chang holds a Masters in Chemical Engineering degree from the University of Toronto.During her time completing her education in Toronto, she joined the erthos to come up with science based solutions to plastic pollution. 

After graduating, she joined Erthos full-time as a co-founder & CTO, and has been working towards transforming agricultural by-products into 100% compostable alternatives to traditional plastic inputs. By 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean. With the incredible technologies that exist today to build and innovate exceptional technologies, that’s a statistic of our future that Chang cannot withstand.  

The innovation of developing alternatives for traditional plastics saves the world from plastic pollution and gives us a cleaner and more sustainable earth. Since co-founding erthos, the company has expanded into China, set up a subsidy based in Shenzhen, raised over 7 million dollars, and launched manufacturing pilots worldwide. Chang’s passion for purposeful science ventures is what drives her to continue building innoval sustainable technology everyday.

Why did you wait before, and why are you not waiting anymore?

Before started everything, I was hoping to reach out some of status of being ready. Plastic industry is mainly male-dominated and I thought I should gain more related experiences so that people can recognize you. Staying in the scientific area is a good way to gain experience, however, this only contributes to scholar experience which the most of time is off the reality. When started to see the applicable difference between research and the real business world, that’s the moment I decided that I cannot wait.