AVENIR

Kombucha may not be everyone’s cup of fermented tea, but the divisive drink might have the answer to the world’s dangerous overreliance on plastic.

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The kombucha fermentation process produces a by-product known as a SCOBY: Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast. It forms a waxy, mushroom-like seal over the liquid, which is normally thrown out once fermentation has finished.

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While studying at the School of Form in Poznań, Poland, scientist/designer Roza Janusz had an idea. By adding vegetable-based agricultural waste to the SCOBY, she created a substance that can be used as an alternative to plastic wrapping, like the kind you’d find around vegetables or chocolate bars.

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As SCOBYs are 100 per cent cellulose, Janusz’s creation is 100 per cent biodegradable, solving the environmental problems caused by plastic. And its benefits extend further still. The SCOBY substance creates the same anti-bacterial oxygen barrier around its contents as plastic, yet is also edible. It takes on the flavour of whatever it’s wrapped around, and has a six-month shelf life.

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Alas, the chances of masses of people wanting to eat bacterial culture from fermented tea, especially when it looks as unattractive as it does, are likely low. Furthermore, the average time it takes to grow one sheet of the substance is two weeks, and the cost remains far too high to put into widespread production.

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Janusz and her colleagues at MakeGrowLab, where she developed the substance, are working on making the process quicker and cheaper, though her impressive innovativeness may not be able to overcome these considerable hurdles. Nevertheless, anything to help society reduce its dependence on plastic is a welcome development, and a promising sign as the climate revolution keeps picking up speed.