In Puerto Rico, a supermarket chain has launched an AR filter to help reduce food waste. — AFP Relaxnews
While it’s widely understood that food waste is an environmental disaster, we can sometimes lack inspiration when it comes to finding alternative uses for expired food. In Puerto Rico, a supermarket chain has launched an augmented reality (AR) filter for use via Instagram to show shoppers how to repurpose expired everyday items.
From bunny ears to contouring to turning your cat into a Disney character, there are filters of all kinds on Instagram and Snapchat. And while many of them are just for fun, Puerto Rico’s largest supermarket chain has found a way to make them more beneficial.
At a time when the United Nations estimates that 17% of food available to consumers is wasted – the equivalent of 931 million tonnes of food thrown away – the SuperMax chain has decided to give its customers some handy repurposing tips to avoid discarding products that have passed their expiry date.
It all happens on the Instagram app. Thanks to augmented reality, a filter can be used to unlock a useful second life for all kinds of items.
Based on image recognition technology, the filter proposes alternative uses for consumer goods before your very eyes. Examples include making an oatmeal-based preparation to absorb odours from the refrigerator, using black sugar as a natural exfoliating scrub, olive oil to grease door hinges and prevent squeaking, and using expired milk to remove ink stains from clothes.
Many of the tips are related to cleaning and take the form of household aids. Even without being near one of the SuperMax stores, you can still check out these tips via the online platform of this anti-waste campaign, called “Reusables”.
Some of the alternative uses might seem less immediately practical than others, such as using rice to save cellphones that have gotten wet or spaghetti as a drinks’ stirrer. Plus, many of these dry foods can often be consumed with minimal risk after their use-by dates, provided that they have been stored away from light and humidity.
Still, the initiative is a positive step in raising awareness about the problem of food waste. – AFP Relaxnews
