Ooho Edible Water Bubble Aims To Eliminate Plastic Bottles

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Photo Credit: Skippingrockslab.com

It is a well-known fact that plastic bottles, which take hundreds of years to decompose, are harmful to our environment. However, efforts by environmentalists to encourage consumers to switch to alternatives, like water fountains or reusable bottles, have not been very effective. The U.S. alone utilizes over 50 million plastic bottles annually, 80% of which end up in landfills.

To try to combat that, Rodrigo García González, Pierre Paslier, and Guillaume Couche from the Imperial College London have been working on an innovative solution — water encased inside an edible container made using seaweed. All the customer has to do to quench his/her thirst is poke a hole in the surface layer or, better still, pop the entire blob into the mouth.

Photo Credit: Skippingrockslab.com

The creators, who have been working on the Ooho bubble since 2014, use a simple two-step culinary process called spherification to create the ingenious container. They begin by immersing a frozen ball of water or juice into a calcium chloride solution. This helps form a gelatinous layer around the liquid. The ball is then soaked in a solution made from brown algae extract. This creates a second layer, helping reinforce the structure so that the water or juice does not leak. In addition to saving our environment, the biodegradable packaging costs just two cents each, making it cheaper to manufacture than plastic.

After three years of perfecting the design, the inventors, who recently raised over $1 million USD from a crowdfunding campaign, are ready to bring the Ooho bubble to market. However, there are a few challenges that still need to be overcome before it becomes a serious contender to plastic bottles.

Photo Credit: Skippingrockslab.com

In addition to getting accustomed to the texture of the tasteless covering, each edible container contains just a gulp of water, requiring consumers to drink multiple bubbles to quench their thirst. There is also the issue of finding an eco-friendly packaging to transport the bubbles so that they remain clean and do not burst. Finally, popping an Ooho bubble into the mouth is not the most elegant way to drink water or juice given that the liquid can splatter. Hopefully, the creators will find ways to combat the issues so that we can reduce, or perhaps even eliminate, plastic bottles.

Resources: fastcompany.com. theverge.com

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1960 Comments
  • aesheticazyrhia
    aesheticazyrhiaalmost 4 years
    This is so cool! I would love to try it! :>
    • yellow_sunflowe
      yellow_sunflowealmost 4 years
      i hope that this will work
      • elliotto
        elliottoabout 4 years
        This will save the environment forever. #lifechanger
        • doggo020
          doggo020over 4 years
          That is so cool! I'm totally gonna buy that when it goes on the market
          • allisonfouse
            allisonfouseover 4 years
            i would try this but only bcs it looks like it would hulp the inviroment. the only thing i am worried abt is that the bubble part could be toxic to humans.
          • shootingstars
            shootingstarsalmost 5 years
            I do want to try to help the world by eliminating plastic more.. but I don't think this is how I want to do it?.. It seems kind of- weird.. Would it taste just like water? How many chemicals make the "edible water"? I'm not sure I would try it.
            • jojnabout 5 years
              its not that cool
              • otktt queenabout 5 years
                wow so good
                • pennywiseabout 5 years
                  i want one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
                  • pennywiseabout 5 years
                    i want to try one and to terminate plastic.