AWARD YEAR
2023
CATEGORY
Body
GOALS
Good Health & Well-being, Responsible Consumption & Production
KEYWORDS
covid-19, test kit, home test, health testing kit
COUNTRY
United Kingdom
DESIGNED BY
Morrama
WEBSITE
https://www.morrama.com/ecoflo
Eco-Flo
Accessible and more sustainable COVID-test
How does it work?
Eco-flo is a non-invasive test for COVID-19 that aims to make the testing process easier by eliminating the need for a nasal swab. The test has been designed to incorporate Morrama’s approach to sustainability and user experience, with a particular focus on accessibility. The test kit has been simplified down to four parts (Test kit, Test strip, absorbent pad and a sachet). By removing the need for the plastic outer housing of the test, the swab, the buffer capsule and the mixing tube, multiple pieces of single-use plastic has been cut out.
Why is it needed?
Plastic has been at the front line of the pandemic – face masks, lateral flow tests, and sanitizer bottles. With new COVID-19 variants constantly evolving, active testing has been and will remain to be an important part of living with COVID-19. Self-testing lateral flow tests were being used worldwide by early 2021 and, as of March 2022, America alone had used an estimated 835.9 million tests.
How does it improve life?
Existing lateral flow tests were a reaction to the threat of the pandemic and were rolled at speed to enable at-home testing COVID-19 testing. As a result, there was less emphasis placed on the interaction and ease of use of the test and no consideration for the impact the tests have on the environment in either production or disposal. Now there's an opportunity to correct these mistakes. Projecting forward to future pandemics, Eco-flo could be a simpler, more accessible and more sustainable option to aid in helping to keep people safe through instantaneous mass testing, designed with people and the planet in mind.