Your snack bag is set to become more sustainable: Snack makers are looking into ways to replace their traditional plastic-made bags with alternative packaging materials that still preserve taste, Bloomberg writes. One alternative pushed by Switzerland-based snack company Cuétara Foods is the use of calcium carbonate (CaCO3), a mineral naturally found in stone and rocks. The company formulated a technology called “Made from Stone” using up to 70% calcium carbonate for the bag with the rest from resin, creating a light and flexible bag. The tech is now being adopted by manufacturers in 15 countries including the US, Brazil, India and others. Others like the founders of British chips company Two Farmers have unrolled 100% compostable bags made of eucalyptus cellulose after passing tests for compostability and eco-toxicity.

Some big names are in: PepsiCo subsidiary and snacks maker Frito-Lay — who holds a 60% market share — began an alternative packaging debut in 2009 with a 100% compostable bag for SunChips, Bloomberg writes. It was discontinued a year after due to noisiness when opening or handing the snacks, but Frito-Lay gave the alternatives packaging another go with a 85% polylactic acid bag in 2021 for two of its Off the Eaten Path veggie chips. The company plans to have its packaging 100% recyclable, compostable, biodegradable or re-usable by 2025.

And MENA needs this snacks packaging solution: The world produces some 400 mn tons of plastic waste annually, with half of all plastic produced designed for single-use purposes like snacks packaging, according to recent figures by the UN Environment Programme. The UNEP puts the annual loss in the value of plastic packaging waste during sorting and processing alone at between USD 80 bn to USD 120 bn. The MENA region’s growing dependency on plastic in past years has risen to some 10 mn tons of plastic waste annually, Wired Middle East reports, citing a 2020 Strategy & report. This waste pollution comes on the back of a reliance on single-use packaging in the region, with over 80% ending up in landfills or the environment.