Plant robot, wheat bran and food waste coffins, lyocell car seats, 3D biobased dwelling, milk protein films, and more: The Digest’s Top 10 Innovations for the week of May 23rd

#9 Seed pencil maker branches out into tea bags

In Denmark, the producer of a biodegradable pencil containing seeds has expanded into teabags.

Dubbed Sprout Spoon, the foldable teabag/stirrer combo is 100% biodegradable and is free of plastic, metal clamps and pesticides found in most teabags.

“The Sprout Spoon represents a solution to one of the great plastic challenges that the world faces today. Especially the ‘drink to go-market’ needs to rethink its waste problem,” Michael Stausholm, Sprout founder and chairman, tells British Plastics. “Alone in the US, 100 million plastic spoons and other plastic utensils are used and thrown out every day. They can take up to 1,000 years to decompose. In Europe, the problem has such importance that the European Union has decided to ban plastic utensils by 2020.”

The company five years ago launched a pencil that breaks down and contains seeds for herbs, vegetables and flowers. It has sold over 12 million pencils in 70-plus countries.
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