35 billion plastic water bottles are thrown away every year - in the US alone!
17 million barrels of crude oil are needed to produce that much plastic - which would be enough oil to fuel 1 million cars for a whole year.
We all know that pollution and plastic are bad - but plastic water bottles are a major part of that.
And some countries (like the US) still don't have proper bottle deposit systems!
It's convenient to store water bottles ready for on-the-go, and some countries don't have high quality tap water - but still, plastic bottles desperately needed an alternative!
Now, design students from the skipping rocks lab in London have created world's first "edible water bottle": it's a bio-degredable, edible bubble which can be filled with water or other liquids!
So how does it work!?
The membrane is made of a colorless, tasteless seaweed extract. It can be fully swallowed and digested, and is bio-degradable in a few weeks, similarly to fruit.
Different colors and flavors can be added to the membrane, and of course it could also store other liquids than just water!
The water bubble is not only more eco-friendly than plastic bottles, it's also cheaper to produce:
A ball of ice is being dipped in a solution of specific algae and calcium chloride, which then forms a membrane.
This production process consumes nine times less energy and five times less carbondioxide than the production of regular plastic bottles!
And before consumption, an outer layer can be peeled off of the membrane to make sure that even the outside is completely clean.
Of course if you're not comfortable with eating the membrane, you could always just tear a hole in it and then squeeze the water / liquid into your mouth.
The futuristic concept has raised over $1 Million in funding and the project looks very promising - a patent application has already been filed.
Although the product has been around for a few years already, the water bubbles have only been sold at events like Marathons and Music Festivals yet.
The company is expanding though, they're working on a fully-automated production machine and are constantly improving and experimenting with different sizes and materials.
What do you think about these edible water bubbles - ridiculous or promising ?!
Images: 1, 2, 3, 4, Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
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