Google Announces Winners of the Single-Use Plastics Challenge

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 downside of plastic waste, from edible cutlery to sweet made from upcycled components to biodegradable cups made out of clay. Under 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 Techniques: The corporate gives 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 acquired the thought whereas visiting India, the place dissolvable, biodegradable clay cups have a protracted 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 strategy to assist scale back plastic waste within the type of the usual giant plastic tray and delivers each giant and small cookies in codecs that scale back plastic waste for meals service.

Unbelievable Eats: Unbelievable Eats, a Sensible Kitchen Summit finalist in 2019 (then often called Planeteer), makes edible cutlery. The corporate’s founder, Dinesh Tadepalli first got here up with the thought for edible cutlery when he was getting his kids an ice cream deal with. These days, the corporate is working with giant 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. Based on the corporate, its seaweed-derived resins will be made utilizing normal plastic processing manufacturing tools.

Pulp Pantry: Pulp Pantry makes upcycled snack chips offered in bulk packaging focused in the direction of meals service.

Solar & Swell: Solar & Swell gives wholesome snacks corresponding to fruit and nut mixes in numerous compostable and reusable packaging. The corporate transitioned to compostable packaging in 2019 for its single-serve SKUs and not too long ago 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 permits direct shipments of bulk items from producer to retail.

PlasticFri: PlasticFri gives film-based and fiber-based packaging merchandise utilizing agricultural waste, wild crops, non-edible crops, and wooden fibers. Their packaging codecs embody straws, cups, meals mailers, and fruit baggage.

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 compounds that make straws and cups unrecyclable.

Based on Google, the winners can pitch their merchandise to giant meals service manufacturers and take a look at their merchandise out in Google’s cafeterias and kitchens. Lots of them are already getting used to numerous levels in numerous Google areas, and I had an opportunity to strive many of those merchandise earlier this month once I visited Google for its Meals Lab.

You possibly can watch a YouTube shorts pitch reel under that features a description of the problem and an organization pitch from every winner.

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