No plastic! London Marathon Distributes Water in Algae Capsules

Every year about 40, 000 people participate in the London Marathon. In the 2018 edition, the event's organization distributed 920, 000 plastic bottles to participants. Each plastic bottle can take between 450 and 1, 000 years to decompose. In addition, according to a survey published in the Science Advances magazine in 2017, only 9% of the 8.300 million metric tons of plastic already produced was recycled, 12% was burned in incinerators and the remainder was landfilled, improperly disposed of or found. in the oceans.

Credits: Katchooo

Thinking about the negative impacts on the environment, the organization decided to bet on more sustainable alternatives for this year's marathon, held last Sunday, April 28. Through a partnership with a startup called Skipping Rocks Lab, the marathon has distributed edible seaweed water bags that take an average of 4 to 6 weeks to decompose. Oohos, as these bags are called, have no flavor. With the distribution of scholarships to runners during the 23rd mile, the initiative allowed the reduction of 920, 000 bottles to 704, 000, a decrease of 23%. This was the first time the capsule was used in a marathon.

"The marathon is a milestone. We hope to demonstrate that it can be used to scale in the future, " said Rodrigo Garcia Gonzalez, one of the startup's founders. Skipping Rocks Lab was created in 2013 by Rodrigo Garcia Gonzalez and Pierre Paslier while studying Innovation Project Engineering at Imperial College London and the Royal College of Art. In creating the product, the startup's goal was to offer the market a packaging option. that leaves no plastic behind. In addition, algae grow up to 1 meter per day and do not need fresh water or fertilizer, and actively contribute to ocean de-acidification.

Recently, the startup project has been expanded and is now using the same technique for storing sauces. The team is also planning to set up networks to store fruits and vegetables, heat-seal films and bags for non-food products such as screws, nails or hardware.