In her Design Class, Qiting Fang was challenged to come up for a solution to food waste. The problem she thought to pursue was figuring out a useful solution to all of the tea that is drank in her homeland China. The solution: tea desiccants. Desiccants are those little packets, usually filled with silicone gel beads, that are put into products to help absorb moisture and prevent and damage to the product cause by moisture. You've probably not thought a lot about desiccants but they are ubiquitous in the food and drug industry and makes up a multi-million dollar industry. Although Ting's solution was not brought into fruition, the idea of utilizing what we think of as waste to close the loop on everything we use in manufacturing and food production is an incredibly important one. -- If the content we make on the Eco-Warriors Podcast makes an impact on you, become a sponsor! Visit anchor.fm/trashtalking and click on the link to "Support This Podcast." For as little as $2.99, the cost of a cup of coffee, you can help support the stories we share and help spur more eco-warriors into action. Join the conversation on Facebook and follow us on Instagram. Support us by subscribing, reviewing, and sharing this podcast with others. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/ecowarriorspodcast/support