New Products | June 20, 2008 |
Sustainable Paper Plates Make It To Market
Writing in favor of disposable dishes is a little unusual around here but Verterra seems to have figured out how to make a one-use plate environmentally sound.
Verterra is marketing a line of disposable service ware that is entirely biodegradable, available for purchase on their website. Unlike other environmentally-friendly bowls, though, Verterra doesn’t get soggy or warp. It is also produced from sustainable materials, unlike the lines of pseudo-Styrofoam plates produced from subsidized corn.
These dishes are made from fallen leaves and water. That’s it — no funky chemicals, no hidden ingredients. They are “compostableware” — within three months of becoming waste, Verterra dishes will biodegrade. Stick them in your compost pile, come back in a few months and use them to grow your garden. They’re even attractive, perfectly acceptable for up-scale uses.
The only drawback is the price tag: for a set of 10 Verterra bowls, you will pay $8.99. If you’re willing to put paper or Styrofoam in your trash can, you can buy 500 bowls for the same price. Verterra’s site does say that their products are reusable, though, which may make them more cost effective. The real question for Verterra’s products will be the price people will pay for sustainable disposable service ware. So far, though, plenty of reviewers seem to like them.
Image courtesy Verterra
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Comments By Readers
Critique of Michael Dwork and Verterra - continuation.
The overdeveloped salesmanship practiced by Michael Dwork and Verterra includes the assertion that shipping palm leaf sheaths from India to New York is okay because rural people would otherwise only burn the sheaths. This claim by Verterra is deceptive.
Although palm leaves may sometimes be burnt for mosquito control, it is arrogant for Mr Dwork to infer that Indian farmers are not aware of the benefits of putting organic material into the soil (composting/mulch).
Also, in rural India cooking is usually over a fire, and dried palm sheaths are an excellent fuel for the domestic fireplace. Removing Areca palm sheaths from rural areas may have unforeseen impacts, as other sources of cooking fuel need to be collected from the forest or fields.
Verterra are proud to own extensive production facilities in India, which is, no doubt, the optimum for New York based Verterra’s balance sheet.
Although Verterra’s facilities provide employment, its wider value for rural development is questionable, and may even be detrimental for rural self-esteem, as the villager labours for the foreign company that stole ‘their’ product.
Other producers of Areca plates include village cooperatives, the greater benefit for rural development would be obvious.
If your concern is to support rural development in India, please consider Areca products from village manufacture.
I like to have Areca palm containers for display in the home. However, from the environmental perspective, the promotion of any single use dishware is not appropriate - unless intended for areas with serious water shortages.
In Australia, artists make delightful baskets and sculptures from the leaf sheaths of the Bangalow palm Archontophoenix cunninghamiana, which is also an Arecaceae Palmae.
Richard - Murwillumbah, Australia.
Yes, I am a frequent visitor to India, and I do not have any financial interest in any business associated with Areca products.
14th November 2008.
Critique of Michael Dwork and Verterra - continuation.
The overdeveloped salesmanship practiced by Michael Dwork and Verterra includes the assertion that shipping palm leaf sheaths from India to New York is okay because rural people would otherwise only burn the sheaths. This claim by Verterra is deceptive.
Although palm leaves may sometimes be burnt for mosquito control, it is arrogant for Mr Dwork to infer that Indian farmers are not aware of the benefits of putting organic material into the soil (composting/mulch).
Also, in rural India cooking is usually over a fire, and dried palm sheaths are an excellent fuel for the domestic fireplace. Removing Areca palm sheaths from rural areas may have unforeseen impacts, as other sources of cooking fuel need to be collected from the forest or fields.
Verterra are proud to own extensive production facilities in India, which is, no doubt, the optimum for New York based Verterra’s balance sheet.
Although Verterra’s facilities provide employment, its wider value for rural development is questionable, and may even be detrimental for rural self-esteem, as the villager labours for the foreign company that stole ‘their’ product.
Other producers of Areca plates include village cooperatives, the greater benefit for rural development would be obvious.
If your concern is to support rural development in India, please consider Areca products from village manufacture.
I like to have Areca palm containers for display in the home. However, from the environmental perspective, the promotion of any single use dishware is not appropriate - unless intended for areas with serious water shortages.
In Australia, artists make delightful baskets and sculptures from the leaf sheaths of the Bangalow palm Archontophoenix cunninghamiana, which is also an Arecaceae Palmae.
Richard - Murwillumbah, Australia.
Yes, I am a frequent visitor to India, and I do not have any financial interest in any business associated with Areca products.
14th November 2008.
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