Sexy Disposable Dishes?
by TreeHugger on 08.17.04
Yes, we know it takes just 60 seconds to scrub and rinse a dish, but somehow the cereal bowls still sit there for three weeks straight. Thus the appeal of disposable dishes, but alas—no one has made a sustainable alternative that’s tempted us dishware-design snobs to make the switch. Until Lene Vad Jensen and Anne Bannick came along with this sleek set of compostable dishes, in juicy colors that flatter our modern décor, our pretense of environmental savviness, and our less-than-superior cooking. PapCorn’s asymetrical 50s-inspired plates, bowl, and spork—a spork!—are molded from bioplast, a biodegradable corn-based plastic. [by jen renzi]
::Papkorn site
Unfortunately, I just went to this website and they state that these products are not for sale yet. :(
I would buy the product right now if it were available. Wholefoods uses a corn starch based plastic for their take away cutlery. www.thegreenoffice.com offers plates and cutlery made from sustainable and biodegradable materials. I vote for an end to fast-food take-out disposables. Perhaps there could be a steep discount offered to people to bring re-usable containers for take-out orders. Hygene does come into the picture here somehow but it another solution to the disposable problem.
I run greenstarbucks.com. I blog in support of the Bring Your Own movement. If 50 people at every Starbucks store worldwide (13,138 stores) brought their own cup each day over 300,000 trees would be spared and not be tossed into landfills for sheer convenience.
I am curious if recycled paper pulp plates would be better than the starch based PLA plates. Two factors of concern are the amount of petroleum that goes into the manufacture of PLA vs. paper and if using starchy food based products for plates could eventually lead to increased food prices. I have not found much on this topic, but I am trying to suggest a new plate for cafeteria services at work, and I don't know which is greener. Any leads?