Earthy Noodles
Muna Alkhotaba
Project Concept
.My idea is eco-friendly noodles: the plastic seasoning packets are replaced with a bioplastic sheet that holds the spices and dissolves into the noodles, and the plastic fork is replaced with eco-friendly chopsticks.
This tackles a huge waste problem—Indonesia consumes 14.5 billion instant noodles a year, producing about 73,000 tonnes of plastic from sachets and several thousand more tonnes from forks.
With this design, we keep the convenience of noodles but cut out tens of thousands of tonnes of plastic waste every year....
Indonesia consumes 14.5 billion instant noodles every year, and with each serving comes plastic: tiny seasoning sachets and, in cup noodles, disposable forks. Together, they create an enormous waste problem—about 73,000 tonnes of plastic annually just from sachets, plus several thousand more tonnes from forks that are used once and thrown away. Most of this plastic is non-recyclable, meaning it ends up polluting landfills, rivers, and oceans.
My idea is to transform this system into eco-friendly noodles. Instead of separate plastic sachets, the seasonings are embedded into a bioplastic sheet shaped like a circle that fits perfectly on top of the noodle block. When cooking, the sheet naturally dissolves, releasing the flavors without the need to tear open any packets. For utensils, I replace the single-use plastic fork with eco-friendly chopsticks made from bamboo or another biodegradable material, which are more sustainable and culturally authentic.
This innovation keeps the convenience and taste of instant noodles but removes the hidden cost of plastic waste. By adopting this design, we could eliminate tens of thousands of tonnes of plastic every year, making instant noodles not just fast and delicious, but also far more sustainable.
Indonesia consumes 14.5 billion instant noodles every year, and with each serving comes plastic: tiny seasoning sachets and, in cup noodles, disposable forks. Together, they create an enormous waste problem—about 73,000 tonnes of plastic annually just from sachets, plus several thousand more tonnes from forks that are used once and thrown away. Most of this plastic is non-recyclable, meaning it ends up polluting landfills, rivers, and oceans.
My idea is to transform this system into eco-friendly noodles. Instead of separate plastic sachets, the seasonings are embedded into a bioplastic sheet shaped like a circle that fits perfectly on top of the noodle block. When cooking, the sheet naturally dissolves, releasing the flavors without the need to tear open any packets. For utensils, I replace the single-use plastic fork with eco-friendly chopsticks made from bamboo or another biodegradable material, which are more sustainable and culturally authentic.
This innovation keeps the convenience and taste of instant noodles but removes the hidden cost of plastic waste. By adopting this design, we could eliminate tens of thousands of tonnes of plastic every year, making instant noodles not just fast and delicious, but also far more sustainable.
My idea is eco-friendly noodles: the plastic seasoning packets are replaced with a bioplastic sheet that holds the spices and dissolves into the noodles, and the plastic fork is replaced with eco-friendly chopsticks.
This tackles a huge waste problem—Indonesia consumes 14.5 billion instant noodles a year, producing about 73,000 tonnes of plastic from sachets and several thousand more tonnes from forks.
With this design, we keep the convenience of noodles but cut out tens of thousands of tonnes of plastic waste every year.
My idea is eco-friendly noodles: the plastic seasoning packets are replaced with a bioplastic sheet that holds the spices and dissolves into the noodles, and the plastic fork is replaced with eco-friendly chopsticks.
This tackles a huge waste problem
With this design, we keep the convenience of noodles but cut out tens of thousands of tonnes of plastic waste every year.
Initial Prototypes
Diagrams
Use Diagram