The next time you venture out for a picnic in the park, consider a greener food ware product- Eatware products come in a variety of shapes and sizes, can safely hold oils and water, be stored in the fridge, are microwave-safe, AND are 100% compostable. Eatware is made of 100% natural fibers from bamboo, sugar cane pulp, starch and water- and no chemical additives! While there are several biodegradable food container companies on the market, some potato starch based; some corn starch based, Eatwareis among the most durable and safe- decomposable in the compost and dispersed in water in just two weeks.
While biodegradable materials are a step in the right direction, many contain plastic polymers to keep their shape, and can take hundreds of years to break down before they can begin decomposing into soil. In contrast, Eatwareproducts can decompose in soil in just 180 days, and though we don’t recommend it- you could actually eat them! It’s easy to toss out that paper plate or Chinese food container, but even recycled/recyclable food container products are surprisingly un-green. Paper manufacturing arguably causes as much pollution as producing plastic polymers, not to mention depleting our forests in the process. Then there is extruded polystyrene (EPS) commonly known as Styrofoam, which has been recently banned in nearly 100 US cities due to its negative environmental impacts.
Eatware recently debuted at International Expos this year, including this Green Carnival in Hong Kong. Eatware and other nature-based products are distributed by Global Foods Trade and Excellent Packaging, to name a few. Some of these products are available at Whole Foods, but we’d love to hear about your experiences with biodegradable and/or decomposable food containers, and where you found them. + Eatware Compostable Food Containers
