Algae Water Bottle

We all know that plastic waste is the worst. Nevertheless we keep consuming food in plastic trays and keep drinking water from plastic bottles.It takes at least 700 years for plastic to decompose in landfills. Where are we heading? A solution might be on its way by designing biodegradable water bottles from algae. Icelandic product designer Ari Jonsson says that he feels tha there is an urgent need to find ways to replace some of the unreal amount of plastic we make, use, and throw away every day. Why are we using materials that take hundreds of years to break down in nature to drink from once and then throw away?”His innovative solution to the problem of plastic pollution is agar, a substance made from algae. Agar dates back to the 1650’s, when a Japanese innkeeper tossed out extra soup and saw it gel together overnight. It made its way into microbiology labs in the late 1800’s and is still used today to separate molecules.To create a bottle out of algae, Jónsson mixed powdered agar with water. The resulting mixture had a wobbly, jelly-like consistency, and he heated it before pouring it into a cold mold. The mold was swirled inside a container of ice water until the agar formed a bottle. Just a few more minutes of refrigeration, and the bottle was ready for use. The algae bottle retains its unique shape until it is empty, and then it begins to break down. It’s an all-natural alternative to plastic, and Jónsson says drinkers can even chew on the bottle if they enjoy the taste. Agar is often used as a vegetarian or vegan substitute for gelatin in desserts, and is both safe for the environment and humans. HABITAT