The packaging industry might be heading towards a sustainable revolution, as more and more ideas and advances in the field of smart packaging are popping up. Strangely enough, the problem with introducing unconventional products is not so much related to feasibility, but rather it seems people are not yet ready for it mentally.
So, imagine you go to the supermarket, you pick your loose vegetables and fruits, you take your bread from the bakery section, and then you move on to the yogurts and you pick a small ball, made of caramelized sugar, filled with delicious fresh yogurt. Why not, hey?
Well, apparently people are accustomed to buying certain things wrapped in polluting plastic packages, and this is the reason why none of the great ideas and concepts for edible packaging around are out there, and available.
Thankfully, there is a pronounced tendency in the packaging industry to try and limit non-biodegradable, long-persistent in the environment wrappers. Increasingly, companies are introducing ideas for waste-free packaging, that is either edible or degrades along with the food inside it.
To give some examples, one comes from an emerging company WikiFoods, which is developing packages out of natural ingredients that function like skins of fruits. Some crack like egg shells, others can be consumed directly with their feeling, which could be either yogurt or ice cream. Another example comes from Tomorrow Machine, a company that developed food packaging with life span as long as the content in it. These guys are also working on developing packaging for liquid products and dry ingredients.
Unfortunately, none of these is commercially available, and it might take quite a while before these hit the market. On the positive note, it is great that such topic is making it to the headlines. Waste disposal is something that should not be taken lightly, and in order to be able to handle it properly, we should start with the source. Packaging industry is first, but of course, nothing will work without the conscientious consumers.
Image (c) WikiFoods
