VerTerra Signature Compostable Plates Eco Review

We’ve looked at VerTerra dinner plates before, and they have now released their Signature Collection.

I got a four piece pack including a 6″ and 8″ plate, a 6″ bowl and a small tray. Essentially more curvy and stylish than the plates in my previous video, they still undergo the same rigorous steaming and heating to sterilize the fallen leaves that can be then used as plates and bowls. As always they are chemical-free, non-toxic, biodegradable, sustainable, renewable, microwave, oven-, and refrigerator-safe, and at the end of their use, compostable (unlike recycled paper plates).

I found them to be a great talking point at our housewarming party, plus made me feel good about the leftover trash! And they look more stylish than the regular versions. They held up well, though through a variety of sauces and cutting they’re not really reusable, but are not intended to be. No need to transfer leftovers on to another plate or bowl to put in the fridge either, as they are safe to use there, and also safe for the microwave when the food was reheated.

The question I got most after “what are they made of?” is “how much do they cost?”. Compared to other eco friendly choices, they are more expensive than recycled paper (not compostable or oven safe), recycled plastic (not biodegradable, compostable or oven safe), bio plastic corn (no hot liquids, nor oven safe and partially compostable), but cheaper than bamboo paper plates that aren’t compostable or oven safe. Price varies by size of plate and the number of plates you get, so take a look at their website for the latest info.

My cousin summed them up: “Dinnerware from fallen leaves? Nice!”

Espresso Packaging2Go Eco Product Review

Espresso Packaging2Go is a UK-based company which produces a range of environmentally friendly packaging. From palm leaf plates, wooden bowls, recycled cardboard lunch boxes, bamboo and fibre plates and much more, they make it. Espresso sent Life Goggles a whole host of things to test and put through its paces.

Disposable packaging is something modern society is never going to get away from. For all the good intentions, they’ll always be a time when you forget your lunch or your ceramic mug and need some food or a drink and pop to the shops. But why should disposable packaging be bad for the environment? Espresso Packaging2Go says it has a solution to that problem which its range of products.

Looking just like clear plastic cups or salad bowls, the corn starch range is really good. 100% biodegradable and from a renewable supply, they seem just like normal plastic cups. I’d still feel guilty about throwing a cup away after use but these aren’t made to last so in a way you have to throw them away.

The palm leaf plates and bowls are very similar to the ones we’ve reviewed before (here and here) and I remain impressed and love using them. Very strong, you can use a usual knife and fork with them and hot, cold, heavy and sloppy food are easily coped with. I love these and are great for parties and barbeques.

There’s also a ‘woody’ range which has less impressive eco-credentials but is all biodegradable, as is the ‘pulp’ range which are moulded fibre products made from bamboo stalks, straw and bagasse, which is a sugar cane by product. These are like thick paper plates and are once again great for a disposable product, but obviously no replacement for something reusable.

The same can be said for the cutlery. Made from PSM, which amusingly stands for Poly Starch Material (I found it funny anyway), it’s a biodegradable resin that comes from starch corn. They’re much stronger than plastic cutlery I’ve used before and are even reusable for a couple of times anyway.

It’s been weird using disposable products and I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it. But these products are pretty good, have decent eco-credentials and it’s great the option of biodegradable disposable plates etc is out there. To find out more go to www.espressopackaging2go.com.

VerTerra Natural Dinnerware Eco Product Review

VerTerra dinnerware are plates, bowls and platters that are made from 100% fallen leaves.

No glue, chemicals, varnishes, or bonding agents are used. The plates go through three levels of sterlization: steaming; high-pressure spraying; and UV sterilizing (while recapturing at least 80% of the water) and then are heated in an oven. It has taken them two years to perfect a safe product.

I’ve embedded a video below to show the plates in more details. If you’re reading from RSS and can’t see the video, please click here.

Each piece is made from 100% renewable and compostable plant matter and water. You can even use it to reheat in the microwave, bake in the oven, or cool in the fridge. The plates were really strong when I tested, destroying them took a lot more effort than paper or plastic. They worked well when wet and can simply be dried off and used again with no ill effects.

They are made in South Asia, and the leaves will biodegrade when composted in about 2 – 3 months. Check out their products at the VerTerra website.

All Disposable Products Should Be Like This!

We review a lot of great alternatives to “traditional” products, ones that are just as good (or better), sometimes costing around the same, and we often come to the conclusion – why do we still use the popular versions?

Disposable cutlery and containers are products that are difficult to avoid. There are times when reusable cutlery is not practical or allowed (i.e airplanes) and while remembering to take your own containers to takeaway places (or even restaurants for left-overs) is an admirable goal, it’s not one that we’re all likely to achieve any time soon.

To that end, Dispoz-o have sponsored a review of their latest environmentally conscious products – enviroware biodegradable cutlery, straws, hinged containers, plates and bowls.

About Dispoz-o

Creating a biodegradable product with the same characteristics as non-biodegradable plastics seems like a great achievement to me. Beginning their “greening” in 1999, Dispoz-o began with using recycled materials, water reclamation, energy saving systems, and many other initiatives in their factories following the 3Rs of Reduce, Reuse & Recycle. But this wasn’t enough; they partnered with MIT to create “envirofoam” dinnerware in order to reduce their environmental footprint. Then, in 2005, they began their quest to make their disposable plastic products out of biodegradable material, which would be realized in 2008.

Biodegradable Cutlery and Plates

There are several different ways to achieve this goal, each with their pros and cons, and it took over two years for them to discover their final method – Active Organic Catalyst (AOC). The AOC agents act as a stimulus for micro-organisms to produce an enzyme that breaks up the molecular chain into much smaller structures. Once this is done, the micro-organisms can then metabolize these structures into organic material. Enviroware is FDA approved and meets lots of acronym standards that you can look up on their website.

Depending on how active a landfill is the products will degrade in as little as 9 months and up to five years, compared to a typical estimated 400 years with current plastics and traditional food containers. They break down completely into carbon dioxide, water and methane and leave no toxic residue.

Yes, it’s still plastic

The products are either polypropylene or polystyrene plastic (made from petroleum), but coupled with AOC their products are now 100% biodegradable. It is better to avoid using plastic at all but there are times when you can’t avoid it, and there are some people and companies who don’t care about avoiding plastic. I’m all about making things easier for people and taking small steps towards being green, so using green products that look the same and function the same as traditional non-green products is a great move. I’ve tried many of them out personally and you can’t notice the difference at all with enviroware.

Enviroware make 100% biodegradable single use products including plates, bowls, hinged take-out containers, school lunch trays, cutlery, cutlery kits, straws and stirrers. If you’re a business who uses the non-biodegradable versions of these products and aren’t about to, or able to change anytime soon, then take a look a Dispoz-o enviroware. Houston Independent School District have just announced their move to biodegradable products.

Potato Pak Biodegradable Plates Product Review

Potato Pak offers a wide range of 100% biodegradable plates and bowls made from potato starch. The products are non-toxic and of course, very environmentally friendly. The current available products range from ‘dinner-sized’ plates, to small bowls and even ‘take-away style’ punnets with secure lids.

The green-credentials of these products look to be fantastic. As mentioned above, being 100% biodegradable means that these products will quickly break down in your compost heap or even a worm farm. The packaging that the products arrived in is known as pop starch, a starch based cushioning product which eliminates the need for polystyrene filling in the package. I dropped one of these starch balls in some water and it dissolved away almost instantly. The product did, however, come with minimal plastic wrap. I assume this is out of necessity as the product will need to be kept secure to prevent damage during transport.

According to the information sheet you can even eat the plate if you feel the inclination, although this isn’t recommended. I ran a taste test on one of the plates and while edible, there isn’t really much of a taste beyond a papery/cardboard one!

As you can see in the photos, most of the products come in a beige-cream colour, although coloured varieties are also available. The coloured plates and bowls provide an excellent alternative to their polystyrene counterparts used in events such as birthday parties for kids.

Potato Pak also offer wooden utensils to go with the plates and bowls. These are a good, eco-friendly alternative to the usual plastic forks, spoons and knives. As their website correctly mentions, plastic products require oil during their manufacturing, which is not only environmentally unfriendly, but a limited, non-renewable resource as well. The wooden utensils are also a lot stronger than your typical plastic one.

The plates and bowls are a bit thicker than polystyrene plates and bowls which means that the amount of heat transferred is reduced. This means you can hold onto a plateful of hot food a lot easier than you can do with a polystyrene plate. Currently, the products are not capable of holding hot liquids, such as coffees and soups but Potato Pak does mention that they are conducting research into making a product that can handle hot liquids. If this is achieved then they will be able to branch out into replacing things like the typical polystyrene coffee cup with a green alternative.

The plates and bowls are surprisingly durable. Compared to the typical paper plate option, these items are incredibly strong and sturdy. One thing we did notice though, if there is a small split on the sides of a plate or bowl, you’ll need treat it with a bit more care as they can split quickly from there. We tested how much weight we could load the plate (no damage) with before it broke. Holding the plate on one end, we loaded 600 grams of apples on the opposite end and the plate held up perfectly. Of course in reality you’ll most likely be holding the plate in the middle, but the test shows how strong these items really are.

Potato Pak products are really suited to ‘greening’ the birthday party, barbecue, outdoor social function type markets. Due to their short life-span it’s not very realistic to use around the home for everyday use. By providing an environmentally friendly alternative to temporary cutlery, Potato Pak products are helping to reach zero-waste targets which are landfills are currently trying to achieve.

All in all we were really impressed with the products offered by Potato Pak. I am also looking at the potential benefits of the light-weight products for use in tramping (hiking) trips. With new products on the horizon the product range looks to become even more practical and usable in more of our everyday cutlery and utensil needs.

For more information you can visit their website on www.potatoplates.com, and read more product reviews in our Review & Shop section.