The edible solutions to the plastic-packaging crisis

A UK startup making water containers from seaweed is one of many businesses thinking of food-based answers to the global problem of plastic. Can they catch on?

Who hasn't occasionally considered whether you could just chomp on your water bottle once you have finished drinking from it? That is a reality with Ooho water pouches - from Skipping Rocks Lab, a UK-based "sustainable packaging" startup - made from seaweed for an esoteric post-beverage snack.

Of course, eating them is not really the point - the reason they received the thumbs up from French president Emmanuel Macron in December is that they offer a glimpse of a plastic-free future. With the tide turning against plastics and everyone from David Attenborough to the Queen seeking bans, these containers could help save the oceans. Ooho pouches encase a serving of water in a thin membrane made from brown algae. They were developed in London by Pierre-Yves Paslier and Rodrigo Garcia Gonzilez, who claim seaweed is safe to eat and regrows quickly, too.