UC students design ecological lunchbox made of cork

^{Translation by Diana Taborda}

A group of students from the University of Coimbra (UC) has developed an ecological lunchbox - The Cork Food Box - made of cork and a biopolymer (bioplastic) in collaboration with Amorim Cork Composites, a company of the Amorim group, world leader in the cork industry.

The project started to emerge in early 2020, following a challenge from João d' Orey, Invited Professor of the Management and Entrepreneurship course of the Integrated Master in Chemical Engineering at the Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Coimbra (FCTUC). The idea, he says, is that students would be able to create "a sustainable business model focused on the circular economy. More specifically, to develop an innovative, long-lasting product that could reduce the use of plastic and other single-use materials and have a positive impact throughout its life cycle".

The students, Alexandre Jorge, Ana Silva, Cindi Costa, Francisco Brandão, Margarida Oliveira, Raquel Caracitas and Rodrigo Moreira, formed a team and went ahead with the project, which they called R8 - the Cork Food Box. The choice of cork "made perfect sense, as it is a 100% natural and indigenous product from Portugal, the world's largest producer of cork," say the students. In addition, they point out that "cork-polymer composites can be customised and shaped according to the client's needs, they are light and exceptionally strong".

To create The Cork Food Box, the team was inspired by sustainable practices used in the past "by agricultural workers in the Alentejo region, who took a cork food box called "Tarro" to the fields", they explain.

This lunchbox integrates a series of containers of different sizes for transporting and consuming food, drinks and coffee, and is therefore a "multipurpose concept that makes the lunchbox suitable for daily use, take-away services and events", the students say.

A unique aspect of the project, according to the team, is that at the end of its lifecycle, "the containers will be delivered and reused as a raw material in the production of flooring, reducing the environmental impact of the business itself".

Although the business model is already structured and there are already some prototypes, the project still has a number of stages to go before it reaches the market, because, as João d' Orey explains, "we have to guarantee that the product meets certain technical characteristics, such as being dishwasher-safe, microwave-safe and certified for use in the food industry, a process that is already underway, which means that we are in the final design phase of the product". However, the professor believes that this ecological lunch box could be on the market within a year.

At the University of Coimbra, a start-up company is being set up to establish partnerships at various levels. In the first phase, the partnerships will focus on the production of the product and its large-scale distribution. Then, in a second phase, the authors of the project intend to sign consortiums with restaurants and organisations of large events, such as festivals and student parties, like the "Queima das Fitas".

After being one of the 12 projects selected in the international semi-final, "R8 - the Cork food box" will compete in the final of the "Urban Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition" in Australia in November. This competition, aimed at university students, is sponsored by the Alliance of Guangzhou International Sister City Universities (GISU), of which the UC is a founding member.

The group will also participate in the "7th China International College Students Internet+ Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition", which is currently one of the largest international innovation and entrepreneurship competitions for university students.