This week, Google introduced the winners of the Single-Use Plastics Problem, an open-invitation problem the place the corporate invited startups to current options that assist scale back plastic waste. The problem, which launched this previous spring, had Google testing out these merchandise that met state and federal necessities and Google’s Meals program requirements within the firm’s U.S.-based cafes and MicroKitchens.
The twelve winners featured a number of completely different approaches to the large drawback of plastic waste, from edible cutlery to sweet manufactured from upcycled components to biodegradable cups made out of clay. Beneath is an inventory of every winner and their product:
Local weather Sweet: Local weather Sweet an organization that makes sweet out of imperfect, unharvested produce. The corporate reduces plastic by utilizing plant fibers in its packaging.
Eco Refill Methods: The corporate supplies cooking oils in refillable chrome steel containers. The corporate’s containers can “be refilled and by no means thrown away.”
GaeaStar: GaeaStar, which The Spoon first wrote about in April of this 12 months, makes clay cups that disintegrate into mud. The corporate’s founder bought the concept whereas visiting India, the place dissolvable, biodegradable clay cups have an extended historical past. The corporate has developed a proprietary 3D printer that makes every cup in lower than 30 seconds.
Homefree: Homefree makes baked items for meals service that use reusable, recyclable packaging. The corporate’s founder was impressed to create its packaging method to assist scale back plastic waste within the type of the usual massive plastic tray and delivers each massive and small cookies in codecs that scale back plastic waste for meals service.
Unimaginable Eats: Unimaginable Eats, a Sensible Kitchen Summit finalist in 2019 (then generally known as Planeteer), makes edible cutlery. The corporate’s founder, Dinesh Tadepalli first got here up with the concept for edible cutlery when he was getting his youngsters an ice cream deal with. These days, the corporate is working with massive nationwide manufacturers like Dippin Dots, provides each savory and candy choices, and has expanded its choices into straws and sporks.
Loliware: Loliware makes biodegradable, compostable cutlery and straws out of seaweed. In line with the corporate, its seaweed-derived resins could be made utilizing customary plastic processing manufacturing tools.
Pulp Pantry: Pulp Pantry makes upcycled snack chips supplied in bulk packaging focused in the direction of meals service.
Solar & Swell: Solar & Swell supplies wholesome snacks comparable to fruit and nut mixes in varied compostable and reusable packaging. The corporate transitioned to compostable packaging in 2019 for its single-serve SKUs and just lately launched a pilot program to supply bulk choices in reusable packaging.
The Aggressive Good (TAG): TAG makes a bulk-food administration system. The system features a good bulk dispenser that communicates stock standing and consumption developments, and the corporate’s reusable cartridge system allows direct shipments of bulk items from producer to retail.
PlasticFri: PlasticFri supplies film-based and fiber-based packaging merchandise utilizing agricultural waste, wild crops, non-edible crops, and wooden fibers. Their packaging codecs embrace straws, cups, meals mailers, and fruit luggage.
Asarasi: Asarasi goals to make a dent within the plastic bottled water market by promoting maple water (water derived from maple bushes whereas extracting syrup) served in recyclable aluminum cans.
SOFi: SOFi creates what they describe as “plastic straws that don’t suck.” The corporate says its straws and cups are made with 100% paper supplies, with out the plastic or PFA chemical substances that make straws and cups unrecyclable.
In line with Google, the winners can pitch their merchandise to massive meals service manufacturers and check their merchandise out in Google’s cafeterias and kitchens. Lots of them are already getting used to numerous levels in varied Google places, and I had an opportunity to strive many of those merchandise earlier this month after I visited Google for its Meals Lab.
You’ll be able to watch a YouTube shorts pitch reel under that features a description of the problem and an organization pitch from every winner.
