Edible packaging

[3][4] About 50 billion single-use plastic water bottles made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) are produced in the United States each year, and most are discarded.

Alginates are the natural product of brown algae and have been used extensively in wound dressing, drug delivery and tissue engineering, as well as food applications.

[12][13] As natural polysaccharides resistant to breakdown by human digestive enzymes, alginates are classified as dietary fiber.

Although undigested if eaten, an alginate capsule will gradually decompose as the calcium diffuses out of the gel matrix in the reverse of the reaction above.

Many bacterial species produce an enzyme (alginate lyase) which can break the molecule down into single sugar components, which can act as an energy source for the organism.