November 2024

McDonald’s Qatar has shifted from using plastic to sustainably sourced materials for packaging, utensils, and toys.

In line with the Qatar National Vision 2030’s goal of transforming society to be more sustainable, McDonald’s Qatar is one of the first in the quick service restaurant (QSR) industry to follow this aim.

Following this move, customers will have sustainable packaging and utensils originating from the GCC.

This initiative was launched in August and will be implemented in all restaurants by the beginning of 2025.

Barcelona bio-based packaging startup B’ZEOS has closed its seed round. 

B'ZEOS offers sustainable, home-compostable, and bio-digestible packaging solutions made from seaweed extracts to combat plastic pollution.

The packaging is fully compatible with existing packaging production lines. 

Seaweed’s rapid growth rate, ability to sequester CO2, and lack of dependence on land or fresh water, without releasing microplastics, make it an ideal raw material for sustainable packaging. 

A Swansea researcher has invented a new type of plastic packaging for raw meat which avoids the need for non-recyclable pads inside the trays to soak up the juices, meaning the whole of the packaging tray can now be recycled.

The new packaging is already in use in mainstream UK retailers, helping to increase recyclability of more than 800,000 tonnes per year of food plastic packaging generated by UK supermarkets.

This is a key step to removing the large quantities of non-recyclable absorbent pads that simply end up in landfill year-on-year.

They created an online ‘one-stop shop’ specialised in delivering ‘sweet’ experiences through a tantalising array of treats and beverages, blending nostalgia with unique products, all primed for home enjoyment.

Osmo, the digital olfaction company, launched AI-powered scent sensors to authenticate products in new ways.
 
Osmo paired advanced chemical sensors with AI trained on massive datasets. These sensors recognize subtle scent patterns, ignore background scents, and deliver precise yes-or-no answers as to whether the product is real or counterfeit. 
 
Embedding these sensors in a retailer's supply chains makes authentication faster, simpler, and more reliable.
 
Alex Wiltschko, CEO and founder of Osmo, said,