Stylish, eco-friendly tableware making the rounds for parties

Staff Writer

The Columbus Dispatch

Each year, Americans throw out more than 1 trillion single-use plates, forks, knives and spoons.

Those plates? They’re used an average of 5 minutes before they hit the trash, according to Time magazine. Then it’s off to the landfill, where most won’t decompose.

And don’t forget the fuel required to get them to the store in the first place; trucks, planes and other shippers are the fastest-growing emitters of greenhouse gases, the Environmental Protection Agency says.

Suddenly, summer potlucks seem a bit more sinister.

But there’s no need to have an environmental breakdown.

As peak backyard barbecue season unfolds followed by fall tailgating — options exist for making parties a little more eco-friendly while still being stylish.

Eco-friendly disposables are an attempt to bridge the gap between durable multiuse tableware and their paper and plastic counterparts.

The new products are still meant to be single-use, but they’re made of greener materials such as bamboo, palm leaves and corn instead of petroleum-laced plastics and paper pulp. (According to Stanford magazine, most paper plates, unless they’re made of recycled materials, come from the pulp of trees that have been clear-cut from a forest well before the end of their life cycle.)

Eco-friendly alternatives, such as Verterra and Stalk-Market, can often be thrown into the compost bin when the party is over. Bonus points? Dispose of everything in a compostable trash bag.

“Everything you could use in food service has a compostable counterpart,” said Mike Minnix, president of Columbus-based Eartha Limited, which distributes eco-friendly tableware to retailers.

Eartha Limited sells several brands of ecologically friendly products, which use polylactic acid, a corn-based plastic; bagasse, a byproduct of sugar cane processing; natural paper, unbleached and chlorine-free; and palm leaves compressed in high heat.

The market “is changing very drastically,” Minnix said. “People are demanding these things every day.”

Part of the reason, he said, is because the generation that grew up with at-home recycling bins is now more conscious of the lasting effects of most disposables.

Josh Parker is the chief operating officer of Verterra, a company that produces a line of bowls and plates made from palm leaves compressed in high heat. The company tries to emphasize both sustainability and good design.

He said the products are an easy way to make a small change that has a big impact on the environment. The little choices people make every day, he said, make the difference.

“Green is not a light switch,” he said. “It’s a series of decisions.” cschedler@dispatch.com ?

Some options

Here are a few alternatives to traditional paper and foam party supplies. Other brands exist.

Verterra

Verterra's dinnerware is made of palm leaves that have fallen in the forests of India. The leaves are compressed at high heat without glues or glazes.

The dinnerware is microwave- and oven-safe as long as the items stay in the microwave for less than 2 minutes or in the oven for less than 45 minutes at no more than 350 degrees. They're also compostable.

For packs of eight, bowls cost $4.49 to $4.99, and 8-inch party plates cost $4.99 to $6.99.

They are available at Weiland's Gourmet Market, 3600 Indianola Ave., and the Hills Market, 7860 Olentangy River Rd.

StalkMarket

StalkMarket's products are made from bagasse, a material produced in the processing of sugar cane. The bagasse is turned into a pulp, which is then made into plates and other products.

The cutlery and clear cups have a feel similar to nonsustainable counterparts.

Utensils are available at Weiland's and the Hills Market, where 24-count boxes of forks, knives or spoons sell for $2.49 to $2.79.

Cups sell for $8 to $10 for packs of 50 online at Branch, www.branchhome.com.

BioBags

These trash bags made of food starches are fully compostable and, according to the company, are formulated in a way to help cut down on trash odor.

Just throw food scraps (and your compostable dinnerware) into one of the bags, and they'll break down fully in a backyard compost pile.

Weiland's sells 13-gallon bags in packs of 12 for $6.99.

Aspenware

This line of cutlery, developed by former shop teachers, is made in Canada from paper birch trees. These fast-growing trees have a short life span, so, just before their natural death, they'r e cut down to make forks, knives and spoons. To prevent splintering midbite, they're coated with a vegetarian confectioner's glaze that breaks down in compost.

There are no area retailers for the product. Eartha Limited, a wholesaler, sells them only in large quantities.

A box of 500 forks, knives or spoons costs $55.90 from Eartha Limited, www.earthalimited.com.

A similar product, Birchware, is available in 24-piece assorted utensil sets for $4.95 on Amazon.com.