Why cant we just use a bunch of different sized reusable containers that you return to the store?
Honestly this... I already use reusable bags.
Could Dissolvable Cranberry Film Replace Plastic Packaging Someday?
61–70 of 141 posts
Re: Could Dissolvable Cranberry Film Replace Plastic Packaging Someday?
#62Earlier quoted context omitted.
But would you put an apple “naked”? A cucumber? A tomato? At least for me - when I hike I usually have a box and put all of those items there “raw” - the box protects them from mechanical forces but I don’t need to individually wrap my apples inside that box. Having other edible things have such an edible covering would be amazing actually.
Fruits and vegetables tend to have their own inbuilt wrapping that protects them from dirt, moisture, etc. Whereas an oat bar or protein bar is often quite porous and would get impregnated with dirt and stuff very quickly. It's an absurd comparison to make.
This thread was kicked off by discussion of an edible plastic-like wrapper (which would be analogous to the fruit skin).
Re: Could Dissolvable Cranberry Film Replace Plastic Packaging Someday?
#63Earlier quoted context omitted.
FWIW, if you're curious about the insights from somebody who's crusty enough to make their own protein bars :) If you care about avoiding "processed foods" in other domains and are consuming shrink-wrapped bars with a shelf life of 2+ months: here be dragons! I store ours in a glass container the refrigerator, where they're individually wrapped in butcher paper. I'd consider them good outside of the fridge (in the pa…
I find most "protein" bars, processed or unprocessed, are relatively low in protein and function more like energy bars, meal replacement bars, or even weight gainers. I expect the ones made without processed ingredients like protein powders to be especially in that category. Not that there's anything necessarily bad about that, but it does bug me when folk label products as "high" in protein when all the protein come…
Some granola bars would probably be better considered candy bars dressed up to trick you into thinking they are healthy.
Re: Could Dissolvable Cranberry Film Replace Plastic Packaging Someday?
#64Earlier quoted context omitted.
Edible packaging would also be biodegradable and a big plus, agreed that trying to eat it would pretty much defeat the purpose. Could make some interesting food items with an edible film though.
Edible doesn't make sense, because then we need a removeable layer around it to protect the edible part.
I wonder if it would be possible to design a wrapper that wild animals would happily eat. Hypothetically at least this would cut down on the effects of littering.
Re: Could Dissolvable Cranberry Film Replace Plastic Packaging Someday?
#65Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is such a Hacker News meme comment that never adds anything of value every time it gets posted.
Where is the meme? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Re: Could Dissolvable Cranberry Film Replace Plastic Packaging Someday?
#66Why cant we just use a bunch of different sized reusable containers that you return to the store?
Because for this the stores and consumers gave do change their ways. Biodegradable plastic alternatives are compatible with the present convenience-centered consumer behavior.
Re: Could Dissolvable Cranberry Film Replace Plastic Packaging Someday?
#67Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah, this specific bio-material probably doesn't make sense for moisture and dirt. However, the bio-plastics made from shellfish leftovers (think: crab, lobster, shrimp) would be appropriate for this. The problem with petroleum based products (Styrofoam, plastics) is that they are crazy cheap due to our oil based economy. At some point the economics of that industry will change, and with it the prevailing winds on u…
> At some point the economics of that industry will change, and with it the prevailing winds on using plastics as building materials. KSA can pump oil at current rates for 40 years at $20 per barrel. That'll definitely be enough for global plastic consumption. Economics itself isn't going to phase out plastics in my lifetime.
If oil demand decreases enough, it should get more expensive. It seems counterintuitive, but so much of the supply chain depends on moving large amounts of oil, refineries selling different grades of molecules to different customers, and oil companies not having to pay to shut down old wells. Heh, just kidding on the last one, oil firms never pay to shut down wells, they just sell to small firms which can go bankrupt instead.
But the big complicated supply chain for petrochemicals can break at lower scale. Compare how freaked out the markets have gotten at Meta and Netflix for losing users while still being profitable, and you can see how financing could dry up before the wells do.
I doubt it’s enough to phase out plastics, but it might make alternatives more economically viable.
Re: Could Dissolvable Cranberry Film Replace Plastic Packaging Someday?
#68Spend a lot of time cutting lots of zucchini, as one does for food storage, and you end up with a kind of film on your hands that's difficult to wash off. I imagine there is a lot of opportunity for biodegradable alternatives to plastics.
Re: Could Dissolvable Cranberry Film Replace Plastic Packaging Someday?
#69Plastic packaging protects food from moisture and dirt. If you make the packaging out of a water-soluble material and then eat it, surely that's almost completely useless? Like, now you need some kind of additional outer wrapper to stop your edible packaging from getting contaminated. The article mentions muffin liners as an alternative use case, but those are usually made of thin paper and are already compostable.
Yeah, this specific bio-material probably doesn't make sense for moisture and dirt. However, the bio-plastics made from shellfish leftovers (think: crab, lobster, shrimp) would be appropriate for this. The problem with petroleum based products (Styrofoam, plastics) is that they are crazy cheap due to our oil based economy. At some point the economics of that industry will change, and with it the prevailing winds on u…
> shellfish leftovers
There's nowhere near enough of that and it's a natural resource we are already plundering at brutal levels.
Re: Could Dissolvable Cranberry Film Replace Plastic Packaging Someday?
#70Earlier quoted context omitted.
Muffin liners actually make more sense to me. It’s often hard to get a muffin liner off of the muffin without losing a lot of muffin. An edible liner that has a good texture might have some actual value.
There are already edible materials that would work like waffle (as in ice cream cones) or rice paper. You could even call it something different to advertise it's green properties, like wuffin or ruffin.
I feel like "nuffin" makes good sense, nuffin' but edible muffin when you use nuffin wraps.