If food waste were a country, it would have the third-biggest carbon footprint after the USA and China. 

Asio is a retrofit fridge shelf that aims to combat global warming, by putting a spotlight on forgotten food.  

Food waste contributes around 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions of which 70% is generated in the home. Poor visibility in the fridge is a recognisable cause of forgotten food, which eventually leads to its decay and then waste. 

Asio is a friendly, inconspicuous, and effortless solution to saving household food waste. It works by notifying the user when their stored food has been forgotten. The shelves detect the presence of produce, and if the produce has not moved in a user-defined number of days, it will be illuminated, to remind the user of its existence. An increased frequency of interaction and awareness of stored food thereby aims to prevent the unnecessary purchase of duplicate ingredients, and the spotlight focus aims to stimulate recipe ideas and utilise ingredients that would have previously become waste. 

Asio is an engaging and theatrical approach to increasing the value of food via optimised and focused lighting, and if full fridge illumination is required to find produce that has not been forgotten, a simple wave will instantly allow the user to see all their stored food.  

Asio will be available in a range of sizes with additional adapters to enable compatibility with multiple fridges and aims to be purchasable internationally, to increase its positive impact on the global climate crisis.