Edible Water Pouches Made from Seaweed for A Plastic-free Future

Eat with your spoon and have it for dessert could be the mantra of a plastic-free future. Yes. An edible spoon made from millet flour has been designed by Narayana Peesapaty from Hyderabad who hopes that his innovation could be a solution to global plastic problem, reports said.

A UK startup is similarly making water containers from seaweed in the quest for food-based answers to the global problem of plastic, a report in The Guardian said on Monday.

Reusable Water Bottles are as Dirty as a Toilet Seat
On average water bottles had 313,499 colony forming units per square cm of which 60% of the germs can make you sick.

‘Seaweed packaging and edible spoons could well be a part of our daily lives, to tackle the global plastic problem.’

Tweet it Now

Likewise, many businesses around the world are pondering if consumers could actually chomp on their water bottles, plates and spoons once they have consumed the food packed in them.

There were reports in March of nano-plastic particles present in water bottles from well known brands posing serious threats to consumer health. This could well be the solution to such threats, the report said.

Ooho water pouches from Skipping Rocks Lab, a UK-based sustainable packaging startup, are being made from seaweed for an esoteric post-beverage snack.

Need Help Staying Hydrated? Use 'Smart' Water Bottle App!
Tto calculate the amount of water you need each day, a new 'smart' water bottle has been designed. It can be linked with your smart-phone to help you stay hydrated.

Though eating the water pouches might not be a reality at this point, they have received the thumbs up from French President Emmanuel Macron in December, as they offer a glimpse of a plastic-free future, the report said.

These containers could also help save the oceans. The pouches encase a serving of water in a thin membrane made from brown algae. They were developed in London by Pierre-Yves Paslier and Rodrigo García Gonzalez, who claim seaweed is safe to eat and regrows quickly, too.

Ooho's edible capsule and (another UK-made product) Herald's edible straw have both been pitched as potential alternatives to plastic, said Philip Chadwick, editor of Packaging News. "The ongoing plastics debate could mean that more edible packs will be developed."

Besides the UK firm, Indonesia's Evoware launched seaweed packaging in September that can wrap a burger or noodles. In New York, Loliware has come up with a cup you can eat, made from agar seaweed, and is working on an edible seaweed straw.

Biodegradable Plastic Bags, Soda Bottles Don�t Break Down as Previously Expected
Five additives and three biodegradation methods prove that biodegradable plastics do not break down any faster than their conventional counterparts.

Herald's edible straw is made in Barking. It is a sweet proposition, made from sugar, corn starch and jelly, and lasts 40 minutes inside a mojito before it starts to fall apart.

Peesapaty's edible spoons can be eaten up after polishing off a bowl of daal (pulses). In Poland, there are Biotrem's wheatbran plates you can scoff.

However, Chadwick is not sure whether consumers would be comfortable eating the packaging? "Will it taste good? Would anyone want to eat packaging that has been handled by other shoppers,", the Guardian report wondered.

Source-IANS