If you sort your thrash, you will notice a lot packaging is food packaging, from food wrappers to instant noodles (ramen) packets, to food delivery boxes and cutlery. This packaging is single-use and often plastic, which is harmful to the planet. Here are some old and new school alternatives.
Old School Green Packaging
- Lemang - Savoury coconut glutinous rice bamboo + leaves
- Ketupat - Steamed compressed rice cubes woven palm leaves
- NasiLemak - Rich chilli paste rice banana leaf + paper
- BakChang - Glutinous rice dumplings bamboo leaves
- HorYipFan - Stuffed savoury meal basket lotus leaves
- AisBolaSirap - Rose flavoured ice ball no packaging, use hands
- RojakKeropok - Mini salad served on a prawn fritter the fritter [1]
- Mobile Food - The vendor comes to your place your own plates
- Banana Leaf - Used in many dishes as packaging, sealant, lining
- Fresh Fruits - Comes with natural packaging: skin, rind, husk
New School Green Packaging
- Biodegrable - Auto biodegrades (eg. in the ocean) but not compostable
- Compostable - Can be mixed with food scraps, turned into compost
- Tiffin Carrier - Reusable, food safe (needs modern engineering refresh)
- Milk - Milk based film that is 250x more oxygen-proof than plastic
- Avocado - Sustainable bioplastic businesss from avocado pits
- Cassava - Edible, soluble bag made from cassava (the turtle can eat it)
- Seaweed - The sushi roller to the rescue
Green Grant
- MESTECC is calling for proposals [1 2 3] for turning oil plam residues into bioplastics. [We think that is the brief, read the sources for more info.]
- Matching grants of up to MYR 5 million (USD 1.2 million) are on offer, open for application now.
Footnote
[1] The image for the Rojak Keropok is a rough approximation. Imagine a smaller portion of the same salad shown in the image served with only a dab of sauce on top a flat fritter the size of a palm. As one eats the fritter, one consumes the salad (and the packaging, the fritter) as well. The ice cream on a cone, the sandwich, hamburger and hotdog use a similar concept. Read also: green packaging, bioplastics.