This edible packaging cuts plastic waste out of takeout food | The world is good

This edible packaging cuts plastic waste out of takeout food

Soon you’ll be able to eat the containers your food comes in. At least that’s the vision of design studio Forest and Whale which created Reuse — a container designed for takeaway packaging that can be eaten or composted once you finish your food.

The edible packaging is designed to cut the overwhelming amount of plastic waste associated with takeaway food and is made from wheat husks. “The wheat husk is ground into smaller pellets and then, with the addition of a small amount of natural binder and water, pressed within two metal molds at high temperature,” Forest and Whale co-founder Gustavo Maggio tells Dezeen. “This gives shape to the final container, which is then ready to use.”

While the resulting container can be used to hold any food, it is most suitable for salads because it can’t withstand moisture for too long. As Maggio explains, the edible box can hold a salad with dressing for a couple of hours, after which it will start losing its rigidity. That’s why to-go food is the ideal use for it because you typically eat the food soon after ordering.

In case you don’t want to eat the container once you’ve finished the food, you can place it in a regular composting bin where it will biodegrade in about a month. You can do the same with the lid, which is non-edible but is made out of biodegradable plastic. The Singapore-based design hopes to bring it to the market by the end of the year.