To help cut emissions across industry, PA Consulting is supporting a start-up that has created a biodegradable - and edible - water bottle
Plastic waste is a hot topic in 2018. Sir David Attenborough’s Blue Planet 2 highlighted the damage it does to the oceans and now Lego has announced its leaves, bushes and trees will be made from sustainable sugarcane-based plastic.
Here at PA, we’ve spent the last few years working to cut waste across industry. And this year, one of our most exciting projects will land with selected drinks makers. We’re helping London start-up Skipping Rocks Lab manufacture an alternative water bottle that’s 100 per cent biodegradable - Ooho.
Made from seaweed extract, Ooho is so kind to the environment you could even eat it. Plus, it takes just one ninth the energy to produce compared to a conventional plastic bottle. So, if Skipping Rocks Lab hits its aim of stopping 1 billion plastic bottles reaching the ocean each year, it’ll also cut carbon emissions by 300 million kilograms.
To hit such ambitious targets, we’ve helped the start-up design and build a machine that can mass-produce and fill Ooho. With filling built into the mahine, companies can licence them directly and produce finished drinks without the need to bulk-buy the biodegradable containers. This further protects the environment by taking delivery trucks off the road.
Before the machines make their way onto production lines, we’ve been making Oohos for Skipping Rocks Lab to test with consumers at outdoor events like food markets and marathons.
And this is just the beginning. The seaweed-based plastic alternative can be used to replace many single-use plastics, like food packaging. Just imagine being able to eat the wrapper of your sandwich too.
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