00:00Here is Uo, a edible bottle that could change our way of consuming water and fight against plastic pollution.
00:05Developed by the London-based startup Skipping Rocks Lab, which has become Notepla,
00:09this edible water bubble is composed of a natural membrane made from algae and plant extracts.
00:13Its goal is to replace plastic bottles with a single use, thanks to a biodegradable and ecological solution.
00:18The principle of Uo is based on the spherification, a technique derived from molecular cooking,
00:22popularized in the 2000s by the Spanish chef Ferran Adria.
00:24The process is to lock a liquid in an edible membrane using natural agents such as sodium alginate and calcium chloride.
00:31This technique allows to create small, flexible, easy-to-consume water bubbles.
00:34Unlike plastic bottles, it leaves no waste behind, since it is entirely biodegradable in a few weeks if it is not consumed,
00:40unlike traditional packaging, which takes centuries to decompose.
00:43One of the other advantages of Uo is its low cost of production.
00:46Creators believe that this water bubble is much cheaper to make than a classic plastic bottle,
00:50which could facilitate its large-scale adoption.
00:52Since its conception, it has been tested at several events.
00:55In 2019, it was distributed to the London Marathon runners,
00:58an initiative that has saved thousands of plastic bottles.
01:01Thanks to this success, the company is currently working on its wider deployment,
01:04notably for festivals, sporting events and sales points.
Comments