In our quest to live cleaner, greener lives, it should never be assumed that changes have to be big to have a big impact. Turning sugar into batteries or harvesting our body movements for energy are green technology breakthroughs that could revolutionize our world…someday. What we need more of are small changes that can drastically reduce our waste and pollution today.

The need to create more efficient versions of products we use everyday is what inspired Hungarian designer Otília Erdélyi to take a fresh look at the egg carton. Chances are, you’ve got one inside your fridge right now. The paperboard (or in some cases plastic) carton is designed to keep fragile eggs safe until they’re scrambled for breakfast. Erdélyi’s carton does the same thing, only it uses significantly less packaging.

Image via Otília Erdélyi/Behance

Instead of being made from several panels of material that completely enclose the eggs in a box, Erdélyi’s design uses only a single piece of natural microwaved cardboard, leaving portions of the eggs exposed.

As FastCo Design notes, the package’s elliptical cutouts that allow consumers to inspect the eggs without opening the box. And although the sides are exposed, Erdélyi insists that package still provides ample protection for the eggs, especially if it stays right side up. Eggs are accessed by flipping open the topside of the container.

Image via Otília Erdélyi/Behance

“My goal was to design an innovative package using a small amount of material,” writes Otília Andrea Erdélyi, who is currently a master’s student at Moholy-Nagy University. What do you think…was she successful? Would you prefer eggs stored in this type of a minimalist package? Tell us in a comment.