Seaweed coffee cups could help ditch single-use plastics
2016 - "Pig manure could help grow feed for piggeries, cut greenhouse gas emissions, research shows [...] Pig effluent could be used to grow algae or seaweed that is fed back to pigs as part of a closed-loop system for intensive piggeries."
24 October 2018
Seaweed is one of the fastest growing organisms on the planet, at half a metre per day, and could solve the problem of non-biodegradable packaging. Skipping Rocks Lab
A significant amount of the single-use plastics that we use ends up in our oceans. As people increasingly ditch these plastics, seaweed — also known as macroalgae — and microalgae could be the solutions to the world’s plastic food packaging problem. These are being used to develop everyday items, from edible water bottles to coffee cups to biofuels.
Globally, we produce more than 400 million tonnes of plastic every year, according to UN Environment’s report on single-use plastics. Packaging thrown away after one use accounts for 36% of all plastic produced globally, making it the largest industry in plastic production. Most of this waste is produced in Asia. However, per person, it's the US, Japan and the European Union (EU) that generate the most plastic packaging waste.
A 2016 World Economic Forum report stated that by 2050, there could be more plastics than fish in the sea if the current production trends continue.
‘It’s becoming really obvious, the effects plastic has on the environment,’ said Rodrigo García González, co-founder and co-CEO of the UK start-up Skipping Rocks Lab. ‘Society is becoming more aware that this is a big problem and we need solutions from institutions, companies and consumers.’
Skipping Rocks Lab aims to use natural materials extracted from plants and seaweed to create waste-free alternatives to single-use plastics, such as bottles, cups and plates. In 2013, it introduced its first product, Ooho, an edible water bottle made from brown seaweed.
Now, García González and his team want to use brown seaweed to make a sustainable paper cup for takeaway drinks through a project called UCUP.
‘You use a coffee cup for half an hour maximum and then it’s going to be in the environment for probably 700 years. That’s a big mismatch in terms of use and shelf life,’ said García González.
The idea is to use seaweed as a bio-based, biodegradable and recyclable container in disposable food packaging, which is also waterproof and thermal-resistant.
News 
Market Data 
Discover 
AI
