Plastic-free bottle reaches crowdfunding goal

Inventor James Longcroft, of London, has invented and is currently developing the Choose Water Bottle- a single-use water bottle made with recycled paper and a combination of plant-based materials developed by Longcroft himself, capable of decomposing in only 3 weeks. This is a huge step in the right direction, as researchers have speculated that plastic bottles take 500-1000 years to decompose fully.

After reaching his goal of £25,000 and more in the space of only three days, Longcroft is looking to collect as many donations from backers as possible to help the project run smoothly and efficiently.

Determined to change

After leaving Durham University, Longcroft came up with the idea during a trip to Gambia, where he made the decision to start a company that donates all proceeds to Water For Africa, another charity with the way the world sees water consumption atop their list of priorities.

This bottle’s environmentally healthy nature is possible because of the thin layer of waterproof plant-based material that stops the water from ruining the paper of the bottle. Water will help to dissolve the paper of the bottle first, then the inner layer. There is also a small steel cap which decomposes in a year.

Other companies catching on

These bottles are 5p more expensive than plastic, which although more expensive, is certainly worth it for these qualities. After the news of the UK Plastics Pact being announced, this seems to be a sure-fire way for major businesses such as Aldi and Sainsbury’s to keep their promises. These companies and more aim to only stock reusable, recyclable or combustible materials by 2025- which, given the massive strides we are already taking to reduce waste, is entirely plausible.

Fancy joining in on the fight against unnecessary waste?