Week 7

300 words:

With global warming being unmistakably evident in this generation, awareness of plastic on the planet is pressuring companies to re-think their approach to packaging. The UK alone disposes 19 billion single use plastic packaging products annually (BBC, 2020) and as a result, extremely harmful micro-plastic gyres are forming in the oceans polluting wildlife and affecting ecosystems (NOAA, 2018).

The New Plastics Economy launched the Circular Design Challenge in 2018, challenging participants to minimise plastic pollution (New Plastics Economy, 2018). The winner, Evoware, have created a sustainable solution to plastic using algae sheets. The edible seaweed packaging is an innovative alternative to disposable plastics whilst being harmless to life, beneficial to the economy and completely biodegradable. The sheets are formed into sachets which are dissolvable in hot food and beverages (Evoware – Edible Sachet and Food Wraps to End Plastic Waste, 2017) and when consumed, possess nutritional health benefits including antioxidants and promoting gut health (O’Brien, S. 2018).

Another benefit is from an industry perspective. Certain seaweed varieties are able to grow up to a metre a day (Flannery, T. 2019) unlike trees which would take decades to grow. Ocean farming does not require toxic chemicals unlike the agriculture industry; these plants absorb carbon dioxide in the atmosphere as they release large amounts of oxygen (World Tea News, 2018). Seaweed has been used in various food and non-food sectors historically (ProQuest, 2015) and continues to minimise the effects of climate change. The many factors include: decreasing wave energy, preventing coastal erosion, elevating PH levels, and oxygenating waters; all reducing the effects of ocean pollution (Duarte, C. 2017).

Seaweed farming is also increasingly becoming an effective alternative solution for many sectors, and one of the largest farming countries is Indonesia. In contrast to farmers who receive very little of the profit for seaweed, Evoware actively support Indonesia’s seaweed farmers paying them wholesomely and educating them appropriately (Langenheim, J. 2018). In summary, Evoware are approaching plastic pollution using entirely sustainable methods and therefore producing an ethically sourced product.

Harvard referencing:

Source
BBC iPlayer. (2020). War on Plastic with Hugh and Anita – Series 1: Episode 1. [online] Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0005xgz/war-on-plastic-with-hugh-and-anita-series-1-episode-1 [Accessed 14 March 2020].
19 billion single use items of plastic in UK. “Tapineau” experiment – tap water bottled and tested by customers, all of which said they liked it. Really effective to convince/raise awareness for people buying bottled water and to not purchase single use plastic. Supermarkets are charging more for products that are not wrapped in plastic.

Source
NOAA (2019). NOAA Ocean Podcast: Ocean Garbage Patches. [online] Noaa.gov. Available at: https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/podcast/mar18/nop14-ocean-garbage-patches.html.
Gyres in oceans carry plastic out to sea where it degrades into microplastics, contaminating wildlife and polluting our oceans.

Source
New Plastics Economy. (2018). Evoware. [online] Available at: https://www.newplasticseconomy.org/innovation-prize/winners/evoware [Accessed 14 March 2020].
New Plastics Economy created by Ellen McArthur Foundation. Evoware won the prize for “circular design challenge” 2018.

Source
Evoware – Edible Sachet and Food Wraps to End Plastic Waste. (2017). YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24T6ruz1GhU [Accessed 14 March 2020].
Evoware’s seaweed packaging video, explaining the benefits of seaweed, seaweed farming and raising awareness of plastic in the ocean.

Source
O’Brien, S. (2018). 7 Surprising Health Benefits of Eating Seaweed. [online] Healthline. Available at: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/benefits-of-seaweed#section2.
Health benefits of seaweed as an entirely nutritional food.

Source
Flannery, T. (2019). Can Seaweed Help Curb Global Warming? [online] Available at: https://www.ted.com/talks/tim_flannery_can_seaweed_help_curb_global_warming [Accessed 14 March 2020].
Ted Talks – investigating “can seaweed help curb global warming?” It grows really fast. Absorbs CO2 emissions. When it rots, Carbon would be released. Can seaweed keep CO2 locked up long term? Yes. Environmental drawdown. Two things at once: cut our emissions and clean our energy supply, whilst also drawing CO2 out of atmosphere. About 25% will stay in the air forever if we do not act. Competitors have not considered second approach to climate change, only cutting down future waste, not what already remains! Aim: 3% cut of emissons, and draw 3 gigatons of c02 out of atmosphere yearly. Biological pathways to remove co2 – seaweed farming. Diversity in seaweed. Multicellar organisms. Many varieties. Seaweed can grow a metre a day! Grows fast. Contemporary seaweed farms. Ocean permaculture – grow shellfish and fish, and seaweed altogether. Seaweed makes sea water less acid. Alkaline environment. 

Source
World Tea News. (2018). Seaweed Sachets Present an Alternative to Plastic. [online] Available at: https://worldteanews.com/market-trends-data-and-insights/seaweed-sachets-present-alternative [Accessed 14 March 2020].
World tea news highlights Evoware’s seaweed sachets as an alternative to plastic. Ocean farming does not require fertiliser, and a single hectare (two acres) of shallow ocean floor yields 40 metric tons of dry seaweed. During this cycle the plants absorb 20.7 tons of carbon dioxide as they give off copious amounts of oxygen.

Source
ProQuest Ebook Central. (2015). Seaweed Sustainability : Food and Non-Food Applications. [online] Available at: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/falmouth-ebooks/reader.action?docID=2194879 [Accessed 14 March 2020].
Seaweed farming is increasingly becoming an effective alternative solution for many sectors, including food, packaging, and biofuels. Farming has had an exponential growth worldwide between 1997-2012.

Source
Duarte, C. (2017). Can Seaweed Farming Play a Role in Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation? [online] Available at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2017.00100/full [Accessed 14 March 2020].
Seaweed aquaculture contributes to climate change adaptation by damping wave energy and protecting shorelines, and by elevating pH and supplying oxygen to the waters, thereby locally reducing the effects of ocean acidification and de-oxygenation.

Source
Langenheim, J. (2018). Could seaweed solve Indonesia’s plastic crisis? The Guardian. [online] 27 June 2018. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2018/jun/27/could-seaweed-solve-indonesias-plastic-crisis [Accessed 14 March 2020].
The Guardian newspaper highlighting how seaweed can solve Indonesia’s plastic crisis.