Swiss Researchers Team Up With Lidl To Create Packaging Made Of Fruit And Vegetable Peels

Two 10-day-old bananas; the bottom one is protected by a cellulose coating developed by the Empa research institute in Switzerland. (Manifesto Films, Lidl Schweiz, Empa/Zenger)

Swiss researchers have teamed up with supermarket giant Lidl to create packaging for fresh fruit made out of the peels of squeezed fruit and vegetables. The new packaging keeps fruit fresh longer, and its creators say using it can reduce plastic use in supermarkets and help curtail food waste.

Scientists at Empa, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, in collaboration with Lidl Switzerland, set out to create packaging from renewable raw materials.