Edible Containers 🍦 – Reducing Packaging Waste In Australia

Edible Containers 🍦: Did you know that Australians, on average, throw away about 1.9 billion tonnes of waste each year?

In 2018, a report stated that only 300,000 tonnes of the 900,000 tonnes of plastic waste were recycled in Australia.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock all your life, you would know that plastic pesters our land and our sea. In addition, you should also know that plastics are hard to get rid of. They only decompose after centuries! (we think).

You read that right… Centuries!

Do we even have a solution or remedy for this lingering plastic problem on Earth?

Answer: Of course there is! As long as we have environmentally concerned people out there, we will always have a solution. With that said,  have you ever heard about the edible container trend today? I am sure you already have. No, not the cone you eat after finishing the soft ice cream on top. We mean edible food containers that you would not know at first glance that they are, well, edible!  After all, it made its round on the internet a few years back. What’s it all about?

Let Mr Waster clarify it for you.

A bit about Waster

Before continuing with the topic of edible containers, let me first introduce one of the best waste management service across Australia: Waster.

Waster offers a real difference to small and medium companies.  To add, we provide all waste bin collections on flexible 30-day terms and do not charge hidden extras such as bin rentals, sites fees etc.

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You can easily arrange your bin services and junk collection today through our online portal, or you can call our friendly support team for more information and enquiries.

Click on the blue button to learn more.

Edible containers: eat your food and packaging together

Companies, time and time again, have pledged their support on fighting off the plastic waste that harms the environment. In particular, companies both invented and spearheaded projects that reduce the havoc plastic wreaks on Earth.

To give our readers some examples, Waster covered topics such as compostable food containers, rubbish cleaning drones, and even recycling cigarette butts!

But what I’m going to talk about today is edible plastic containers. Come to think of it, none of this is new at all. As mentioned above, the concept is kind of like ice cream cones. Invented in the 1900s, it may be the inspiration of companies to implement edible packaging to other assortments of food and drinks. Presently, a number of innovative ideas about edible packaging exist.

While you’re at it, why don’t you read our blog about burning plastic waste? I promise it will be a good read.

Packaging of the future

Here, Mr Waster presents to you a few edible container innovations.

1. Do eat

“Our healthy and ecological products will surprise you with their quality and user-friendliness.”

In Belgium, two students named Hélène Hoyois and Thibaut Gilquin invented a wide range of food presentation/packaging which was named Do Eat.

Formally established in 2013, Do Eat offers a wide variety of products such as verrines and food packages, all of which are made out of potato starch and water.

2. Better Burger

New Zealand native and Better Burger owner Rod Ballenden noticed that his customers frequently disposed of their bought sandwich wrappers on the streets.

With this in mind, he switched to a more environmentally friendly way by changing their wrappers into 100 per cent compostable ones.

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He took his changes one step further on Earth Day 2018 by wrapping all their burgers with extremely thin and edible wafer paper containers. Through Ballenden’s improvisations, he put himself in the spotlight aiming for a low-waste future.

3. Saltwater Brewery Beer ring holders

Did you know that six-pack ring holders are one of the worst enemies of the sea? Many photos spread around the internet showing turtles and fishes being ensnared and tangled with them.

To counter this, the brewing company Saltwater Brewery devised a plan: to turn the ring holders edible.

Made from wheat and barley, the six-pack ring holders can be eaten by animals instead of getting tangled by them. Head of Brand at Saltwater Brewery Peter Agardy said, “It’s a big investment for a small brewery created by fisherman, surfers and people that love the sea”.

4. Ooho

“We make packaging disappear.”

This is the slogan of Skipping Rocks Lab, a London-based company that develops 100 per cent biodegradable, natural, and edible liquid containers called Ooho.

Their breakthrough product involves using seaweed extracts that “captures” the water in a bladder-shaped bubble, which then needs to be consumed in the next few days.

Once you consume the water inside the bubble, the seaweed-based containers turn into a healthy snack.

5. Edible egg container

David Edwards, along with designer François Azambourg, came up with an idea to create a type of food and drink packaging that is either edible or biodegradable.

Called Wikicells, they enclose food and drinks with an eggshell-shaped edible container made of charged polymers and food particles.

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6. Loliware

Loliware is a biodegradable and edible cup company aiming to replace single-use plastics with their seaweed-based material technology.

Founded by Chelsea Briganti and Leigh Ann Tucker, they mainly use seaweed, organic sweeteners, and fruit and vegetable colouring to produce eco-friendly cups that are FDA-approved.

They designed LOLISTRAW, the world’s first edible and hypercompostable straw that aims to replace the plastic straws used in the United States.

The LOLISTRAW also contains the seaweed-based material technology that I was talking about. Furthermore, it is 100 per cent plastic-free, hypercompostable, marine-degradable, and non-GMO.

They last for up to 24 hours and have a shelf life of up to 24 months.

7. Bakeys

This one takes the top prize as my favourite!

Have you ever imagined yourself eating the spoon and fork you were using in eating? Weird question, right?

Well, Bakeys made all of that possible!

They create edible cutlery to help prevent 5 million tonnes of plastic from entering landfills. Consumers can either choose to eat the utensils after use or let it decompose in just 3 short days.

Conclusion on edible containers

All of these crazy yet innovative ideas, know that the environment appreciates it very well.

By experimenting with edible containers, we put ourselves in a position wherein in the near future, we might just achieve our ultimate goal of having a “zero waste” Earth.

Waster’s Take

Here at Waster, we whole-heartedly support the ongoing innovation and invention of edible packaging.

In our own little way, we would like to help you achieve “zero waste”.

Take a look at our waste recycling shop and avail of the most suitable bin hire for your business.

For more information, call 1300 WASTER (1300 927 837) or enquire at [email protected] now.