Bottle G1

A biodegradable bottle made from waste cereal boxes, recycled paper, and water-resistant carnauba and lanolin wax; a sustainable solution to single-use plastic water bottles and paper wastage.

Bottle G1 is an alternative for single-use plastic water bottles. The bottle consists of two circular cylinders made from waste cereal boxes and waste papers. The inner surface of the bottle is lined with waterproof bagasse paper coated with water-resistant lanolin wax and carnauba wax to prevent the interaction of water with the cereal box. The waterproof bagasse paper is stuck to the bottle’s inner wall with milk gelatin glue (a non-poisonous glue).

The product serves as a sustainable solution in the following three ways-
1. Its production utilizes waste cereal boxes efficiently, therefore promoting their reuse.
2. Promotes reuse of waste paper (waste paper mache).
3. Reduces plastic pollution by serving as an excellent alternative for single-use plastic water bottles.
 The bottle is built over the tensile strength of cereal boxes and the water repellent property of lanolin wax and carnauba wax. The non-toxicity of milk gelatin glue is used to stick the waterproof paper to the inner surface of the bottle.

1. Plastic pollution caused by single-use plastic water bottles: Humans buy about 1,000,000 plastic bottles per minute in total. Only about 23% of plastic bottles are recycled within the U.S If plastic production continues unabated, its greenhouse gas emissions could reach 1.34 gigatons per year by 2030. Our Bottle G1 is an excellent alternative to single-use plastic water bottles. Americans purchase about 50 billion water bottles per year, averaging about 13 bottles per month for every person in the U.S.! If they would start using our reusable Bottle G1, we could save an average of 156 plastic bottles annually per person in the US.

2. Waste Management of Paperboards: According to the 1960-2018 Total Paper and Paperboard Containers and Packaging in MSW by Weight (in thousands of U.S. tons), 6,440 tons of paper and paperboard in 2018 are dumped in landfills. (Source: American Forest and Paper Association). Our prototype provides a tremendous opportunity to reuse these paperboards, thus managing the waste cereal boxes and other paperboards.

3. Less market opportunity for Sugarcane bagasse paper: Our community witnesses very few customers for bagasse paper. So, we have incorporated bagasse paper into our product. Instead of using paper made from wood pulp, we make paper from bagasse and coat it with natural waxes to make it waterproof, thus increasing the market for the sellers and providing 100% biodegradable options for our customers.

Our target population:
• General consumers: WHO’s shocking research in 2018 exposed the presence of microplastics in 90% of bottled water which states that humans consume microplastics through them. We want every global citizen to use our eco-friendly product as it is not only a boon for the environment but also prevents human health from deteriorating.
• Landfill owners: Our product creates a huge marketplace for the private and public landfill owners because we plan to obtain our raw materials – cereal boxes, soda boxes, from them. 
• Small Scale Manufacturers: Our simple product design requires not-so-sophisticated manufacturing techniques, thus enabling small manufacturers to set up manufacturing units.
• Sugarcane farmers: Lanolin and carnauba wax are coated over bagasse paper manufactured from sugarcane bagasse. Therefore, we indirectly create a market niche for sugarcane farmers.

Sugarcane paper sellers are underserved as compared to other types of paper sellers. Our product would create a market opportunity for the sugarcane paper sellers. 
General customers are not provided with a concrete alternative option against plastic water bottles. Our product will serve the purpose of being an excellent alternative to single-use plastic water bottles. 

We first presented our prototype in the 2021 BIEA STEM Youth Innovation contest and won the ‘second prize’ among participants from 50+ countries. As we are passionate about making a positive change through this product, we incorporated the judges’ suggestions and designed a better prototype. 
While building it, we interacted with the following people: 
• Chayyank Ankur, Founder, Flippin Bros Hospitality - He runs chains of restaurants and was keen on starting a pilot program on our research in the future.
• Vigneshwari Subramaniyan, Senior Data Scientist, Computational DMPK and Safety at Astra Zeneca. She helped us understand the safety standards of our prototype.
• Prof. Shobana, Professor, Biotechnology Department, PSG College of Arts and Science - She advised us on natural and synthetic hydrophobic substances.
• Swaraj Priyadarshi, Chief of Staff at Dexterity Global, India. (Alma Mater- Tufts University) - He helped us formulate our business model and explained the downsides of our prototype. 

Stage of development: Prototype
We ideated for 1 month and started working on the product design in June 2021 and made a working prototype by September 2021. Since then, we are constantly engaging with professors, teachers, lab assistants, and friends for suggestions and to learn about alternative components for the prototype. 

At this stage, our prototype is in the final stage of testing in a laboratory. Therefore, we aren’t ready for a pilot program before the safety test. Thus, we would like to consider our product under prototype.

Core Technology: Water-resistant bagasse paper coated cereal box water bottle - Bottle G1
• Cereal box: Cereal boxes are made from lightweight cardboard. If it is disposed of wrongly, it leads to environmental problems. Thus, we purchase used cereal boxes and reuse them. This allows us to contribute to waste management in our community and reduces our raw material costs.
• Carnauba wax: Carnauba wax has a very high melting point of 82-86               °C (180-187 °F). 
a. It protects from UV rays
b. Resistant to water (Hydrophobic)
c. Hypoallergenic properties
d. It has high crystallinity and high contraction
e. Very hard and brittle.
f. Less viscous, more elastic, and more resistant to deformation than other natural waxes
g. It is Edible
h. Heat Resistant 
i. Provided Gas Barrier Resistance 
• Lanolin wax:
a. It is a complex mixture of 33 high molecular weight alcohols and 36 fatty acids, including Cholesterol. It also contains about 5% free alcohol and free acids. 
b. it can incorporate up to 25-30% water without separation.
c. Acid value=5.6-22.0
Iodine value=15.0-46.9
Saponification value = 80-127
Melting Point (°C) =36-43
Density (g/cm3) = 0.932-0.9457
Refractive Index = 1.478-1.482

• We haven’t launched our solution yet, but we plan to serve at least 10,000 customers in the next year.
• Out of this, 10 farmers and 5 landfill owners will be indirectly benefitted via the raw material acquisition process; 2 laborers will benefit via employment.
• With the manufacture of 10,000 G1 Bottles, we will be directly impacting the choices of 10,000 customers by providing them with eco-friendly alternatives for single-use plastic water bottles.
• Our vision is to scale our product and leverage our output to 10 lakh by the second year of launching, but that is only possible if we get the required funding.

Single-use plastics in particular are traditionally hard to recycle because they fall into the crevices of recycling machinery and therefore are often not accepted by recycling centers. This plastic then ends up in the oceans and as pernicious waste in landfills, causing major damage to entire ecosystems. The situation poses a serious question- “What can be done to prevent plastic pollution due to packaging?” Our answer is quite simple - minimizing plastic use by replacing it with other alternatives.

Through Bottle G1, we aim to make individuals socially responsible to reduce their carbon footprints and adopt a sustainable lifestyle. Our product is a scalable solution that people await. We are soon going to launch our pilot program and aim to generate funds in the coming few months. This contest is one such platform that would allow us to represent our ideas and achieve our goals. We are passionate to create change and would not let the judges’ investment in our project go in vain.

Impact goals:

1. Impact the eco-friendly choices of at least 10,000 customers in the next year by introducing bottle G1 into our local market.

2. Positively intervene in the waste management system of local landfills by obtaining recyclable cereal boxes.

3. Open up the market for local sugarcane bagasse paper retailers who are unable to make financial gains.

4.  Empower the lives of widows in our community by providing them employment in our manufacturing unit.

 The interest of retailers and restaurant owners to incorporate our pilot program into their business helped us understand the welcoming mindset of people towards our eco-friendly Bottle G1. 
After the launch, we plan to measure the progress in the following manner:
1. Financial statements: We would check the income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement to understand the profitability and sustainability of the business. 
2. Customer feedback: We will encourage our customers to give their feedback, their experience, and suggestions on our website to improve our product.
3. Conversion rate: We would calculate the kilograms/pounds of plastic replaced by our product to measure the growth of the business and the amount of impact created.
Our aim to create a positive impact on the eco-friendly choices of the people aligns with the following SDG’s :
1. No poverty: As we make use of waste bagasse paper, our solution would provide employment to the local sugarcane retailers. 
2. Responsible Consumption and production: Bottle G1 promotes sustainable manufacturing and consumption of water bottles and urges people to be socially responsible. 
3. Climate Action: Considering the large amount of waste produced through plastic bottles, our biodegradable alternative considerably contributes to environmental protection. 
4. Life below Water:  A report by UNEP highlights that plastic accounts for 85 percent of marine litter. As our prototype is free of plastic, replicating it on a large scale would solve this issue. 

Barriers:

• We are high school students with limited personal savings. So, we initially require 3 Lakh INR to start the manufacturing process.
• To grow the business and leverage our impact to a larger customer body, we need to increase our production rate. Achieving this with manual labor is tedious and unaffordable. Therefore, we look to install mechanical devices and thus we require technical support in the latter part of the next year.
• We would like to investigate the safety standards of our product in a laboratory. Accessing laboratory facilities in India is a difficult task and we would like to have technical assistance in the process.

• Our team is equipped with two individuals – Vani Miglani & Swega Saminathan.
• Vani Miglani- She is a 15-year-old high school student who is passionate about making a positive change. She has worked as a Radio Jockey with the local FM of her town on her show “YouthVani”, the voice of youth, which has enabled her to build communication skills, creativity, and adaptability. Her meaningful experience as a graduate of the Dexterity School of Leadership and Entrepreneurship equipped her with an understanding of 21st-century problem-solving skills. Her passion for biology led her to develop this idea for the British International STEM Youth Innovation Contest. Vani has been the winner of Wiz-kids Personality, a contest popular throughout south Asia along with winning various other national and international contests. Her ability to look at all problems through the lens of a common man facilitates, simple and implementable ideas.
• Swega Saminathan -  Swega has a strong STEM background and took part in the 1000Girls 1000 futures program of the New York Academy of Sciences; 2021 BIEA Stem Competition and won a regional robotic competition. She is admitted to the University of Chicago on a Full Scholarship to pursue Bachelors’s in Biological Sciences. Her two months of intense entrepreneurial experience at Babson College equipped her with the substantial knowledge to launch & run a business. She also worked as a management intern at the Dexterity Global Group where she designed a nationwide talent identification platform and conducted outreach. Her inputs during ideation and prototype development were crucial. She helped our team reach out to professors and mentors for feedback. She believes in making simple, yet effective innovations that help solve problems. 

Flippin Bros Hospitality, Bihar, India: Chayyank Ankur, Founder, Flippin Bros Hospitality, runs chains of restaurants and is keen on developing a pilot program based on our research in the coming months. 

Dimple’s Rasoi, Odisha, India: This is a popular catering service located in northeast India. Impressed by the sustainable solutions we aim to offer, they will also launch a pilot program based on Bottle G1.

• Our project is directly addressing climate change. According to the Colorado State University, the extraction of fossil fuels for producing single-use plastic water bottles and their transportation to plastic factories emits 12.5 to 1.5 million metric tons of greenhouse gases. We aren’t to set out to change this global challenge overnight, rather we would like to start making the change in our community by providing people with eco-friendly choices.
• Therefore, we plan to set up a manufacturing unit in our garage.
• We are going to employ widows in our manufacturing unit to give them financial independence through employment.
• We would like to help local landfill owners manage their waste by buying waste cereal boxes and recycling them to manufacture our products. Thereby, we are also forming a circular economy.
• HP Girls Save the World prize will give us the required monetary support to kick start our impact in our community. Therefore, our team solely believes in the promise we would deliver through The HP Girls save the World Prize.

• We find a lot of relevance with The Pozen Social Innovation Prize because our mission is to employ widowed women of our community who are extremely deprived of financial independence and the government’s support. Even though empowering women isn’t the central theme of our project, however, we would like to provide them at least financial support through employment in our manufacturing units.
• Therefore, The Pozen Social Innovation Prize will not just help us build plastic-free communities but also financially independent women, especially widows.