Packaging

Plastic wraps and food containers generate huge amounts of waste. Now researchers at Harvard and Rutgers have developed a new plant-based, antimicrobial coating that can be sprayed onto food to keep it fresh, and easily washed off before consumption.

Expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam is a problematic material, in that it's cheap and lightweight but also non-biodegradable and difficult to recycle. German scientists have developed a possible alternative, though – foam made out of popcorn.

The Coca-Cola Company has announced it will be trialing a paper bottle prototype in a limited run of 2,000 later this year. The test sales of the plant-based beverage AdeZ will be conducted in Hungary through the e-grocery retailer Kifli.hu.

To prevent packages being lost or damaged in transit – or at least make it easier to figure out what went wrong – European start-up LivingPackets has now unveiled the second generation of its reusable smart packaging called The Box.

​According to its "best before" label, that steak you bought hasn't expired yet … but is it really safe to eat? Well, thanks to research being conducted at Canada's McMaster University, the food packaging itself may soon definitively let you know the answer.

Plastic cling wrap sure is better than nothing when it comes to keeping food fresh, but that doesn't mean there isn't room for improvement. Scientists have now developed a new material promised to offer greater protection by applying the brakes to bacteria growth and over-ripening.

US company Ernest Packaging Solutions recently created a cardboard skateboard deck. The deck was put through its paces by pro-skating legend Tony Hawk.

A process developed some 15 years ago by researchers at the University of Cambridge to recover the metals contained in the increasingly-popular plastic-aluminum laminate (PAL) packaging, is now being demonstrated in a full commercial-scale plant.

A new Kickstarter aims to make deodorant more environmentally friendly by cutting back on plastic packaging. By replacing the disposable stick with a reusable dispenser, ClickStick's designers claim plastic waste is cut by 90 percent. But is the good work undone by overcomplicating a simple product?

The beer lovers at start-up SYNEK offer what they hope will be a versatile mini-tap, going so far as to say that it can fill your mug with any beer on Earth. That claim may be an exaggeration, but the system does offer a unique form of packaging that could change the way we sip and guzzle.

Aiming to open its doors this (northern) summer, Original Unverpackt is set to become Germany's first waste-free supermarket. Customers bring containers to take the produce away, borrow reusable containers from the store or use bags made from recycled paper.

Pizza will soon be joining the US Army's field rations menu. MREs (Meal, Ready to Eat) have a history of disappointing combat troops. Now, MRE designers have achieved a minor miracle in food technology: stopping time for a slice of pizza.