Companies and manufacturers around the world are increasingly concerned about sustainability, which is growing alongside environmental awareness. One of the major critical areas of this change is that of packaging: and this for two reasons. First, the materials we use negatively impact the ecosystem. Second, the materials we use have a negative impact on our body. They end up in landfill and stay there, but a part of them (especially if we're talking about microplastics) stays with us, and causes damage.
Several companies address the problem through innovation and design, and Tomorrow Machine is among these.
A juice with the peel
Swedish startup created a prototype biodegradable bottle called GoneShells, made from a potato starch-based material. The bottle features a bio-based, water-resistant barrier on both the inside and outside to preserve the liquid it contains. Once its contents are finished, however, the biodegradable bottle can be peeled in a "spiral", just like when we (patiently) cut an apple, and its material can be eaten, composted or dissolved in water.
In essence, the packaging begins its decomposition process as soon as it is peeled, even if the Tomorrow Machine founder, Anna Glansen, does not reveal many details about this process. In any case, the designer is keen to provide some elements: first of all, the absolute absence of synthetic components. Secondly, the possibility of producing this biodegradable bottle with existing systems.
Biodegradable “potato” bottle, some considerations
I find interesting this attempt by materials design which aims to "circumvent" the landfill system (plagued by the chronic strain on composting plants). In the past we have told about similar ones, even if less advanced. Guy Bruk, partially peelable. OR notpla, based on algae, all to eat. Personally, I wouldn't eat the "peel" of this biodegradable bottle (or other similar ones) even under torture, because before reaching me it could come into contact with anything. However, I appreciate those who rinse the fruit a little and then eat it with the peel, perhaps the problem is me.
But I would compost this material, yes. This is to say that I find it very useful. Certainly, as an advertiser I find something to do: for example, product labels. It's about packaging, right? Should they "engrave" texts and graphics on the peel, or find a way to apply them without glue? Luckily it's not my problem.
Maybe the main obstacle to a biodegradable bottle like this is just the price: I'm sure that at the moment it would be very high. Of course, PET bottles certainly cost less, but they could cause us absurd harm, which we haven't even begun to understand. In the end, the concept remains: why do we consume products that have a lifespan of just a few hours, and close them in packages that potentially last for decades or centuries?
The goodness of our future will also be seen from our ability to "peel" this question.
