[...] disposable dishes a flip of the wrist — and not into the trash can bound for the landfill. We Heart World has given the VerTerra compostable dishware the thumbs-up approval. We Heart World says: With [...]

They look great, and that’s really a neat idea. The thing is, while they don’t make waste when you dispose of them, it still takes energy and resources to make them. It’s easy to focus on what happens to things after we buy them, and ignore the process of them creating them in the first place, but that’s also an important part of how “green” things really are.

This is such a spectacular idea! Thank you very much for sharing this, I’m so glad to have seen this page.
I would LOVE to replace my mother’s disposable dishware with these beautiful products.

In india people have been using disposables for serving lunch and dinner that are made up of leaves since ages (still in use) and since they are leaves they are bio-degradable. Also since its leaves that is being used they don’t necessarily kill the trees. No wonder Mike was inspired by that Indian lady.

thats a good idea but since im always camping here and there thru the year, i’ll stick to the leaves because they have that fresh scent and that i don’t have to carry them since i just find them when i need them……….. But i have 2 say thats the best looking disposable dishes i’ve ever seen and when i tried them, they were up to the task. Thnx Verterra

[...] disposable dishes a flip of the wrist — and not into the trash can bound for the landfill. We Heart World has given the VerTerra compostable dishware the thumbs-up approval. We Heart World says: With [...]

Wow, what a thorough article, thanks! I consult for Verterra, and can answer (or find out) any questions you’ve got.

Emily, you bring up a good point, it is important that more than just one aspect of a product be considered when evaluating how green it is. In the case of Verterra, the leaves are fallen Palm leaves, that would otherwise have been thrown out or even burned. The actually manufacturing process is extremely efficient, and as the CEO likes to say, the factory uses slightly more than his NYC apartment.

Karonay, how practical of you! For those of us a with a little less hearty digestive systems, Verterra plates are UV sterilized.

Quite a concept!

what’s about “grandma” plates?
They can have 50 years or more ;-)) of courses u have to clean them after using them…
If we want a clean planet, there are many ideas in the “past”…

e

what a bunch of bs, i’m definitely an environmentalist and am getting a degree in sustainable appropriate technology and i’ve done a lot of research on biodegradable and compostable products like these, and what they don’t tell you is that they’ll compost if the temperature is above 140 for numerous weeks, and most people’s compost piles don’t get that hot, there are only about four places in the whole u.s. that accept residential food scraps and such for composting that get that hot for that long, also they don;t want them because it changes the acidity of the compost. doesn’t it seem weird to anyone that they don;t break down in the microwave or oven, but will after 2 months of being outside, i’ve tested many products like this and they remain the same when under normal air temperature conditions outside for months and months. this is just an excuse for people to waste more stuff that has to be produced and shipped to you, takes away the guilt of throwing things away, when we should just use less stuff.

For picnics, parties and other occasions where you might need plates that won’t be easily broken, these seem like a great idea, but I think it’s pretty obvious that the idea of using them day to day in your house is massively environmentally unsound. Most people don’t use disposable plates in the house, so to suggest these for every day use it to suggest a move from plates that get re-used time and time again to plates that have a much shorter life span, which is a really bad idea. As Emily says, it’s not just about them composting after the event it’s about the energy used to manufacture them. It might be a really efficient process as the company rep states, but it’s not as efficient as just re-using normal plates over and over again.

In addition to all the other great comments, these are a wonderful option for parties and events where people would otherwise be throwing away a bunch of plates made from virgin paper or plastic.

This is great I’d love to sell these on my site and in the retail outlet I will open next year in Honduras. My website is http://www.evergreenroatan.com and the farm site is http://www.splitzvillefarm.com I will also put up a page about this on my blog: Howtogogreen which can be found on wordpress or by searching google.

Critique of Michael Dwork, founder of Verterra

(& Columbia Business School 2007 winner of the A. Lorne Weil Outrageous Business Plan Competition)

By Richard - Murwillumbah, Australia, 30th October 2008.

I am an occasional reader of Time magazine and stumbled upon a business article by Jeremy Caplan on Verterra Dinnerware in the October 13, 2008 edition (Australian) of Time (page 52). Also at: http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1706699_1707550_1846340,00.html

Jeremy Caplan’s article is careful not to over-state or claim. However, it strongly implies that Michael Dwork had an “idea” in southern India in 2006, that Mr Dwork developed his idea with “engineer friends”, “crossed Asia to find plants for his plates”, “through Laos, Thailand and Cambodia”, “testing dozens”, “in search of the perfect leaf” and so on. Before settling on a palm leaf in southern India - wow.

I think it should be known that plates and bowls steam-pressed from the leaf-base (sheath) of the Areca (the so called ‘betel nut’) palm (Areca catechu) have been manufactured in southern India since long before 2006.

Indeed, in 2006, steam-pressed Areca palm plates and bowls were already in Indian city stores and on display at trade expos in southern India, and have been imported into Australia with the name of Eco-Vision Bioplate since 2005 or earlier. Areca plates have also been imported into Germany, Switzerland and United Kingdom since or before 2003.

Jeremy Caplan’s article includes a photo of Mr Dwork leaning on a small palm tree. I can say, with reasonable certainty, that this small palm is of the species Areca catechu, the common, plantation, Areca palm.

It seems Mr Dwork copied a well established product (material and method) and imported Areca plates into the US market - which is hardly an “entrepreneurial gamble” and is definitely not an original idea.

Mr Dwork was a member of the ‘entrepreneurship class’ at Columbia School of Business. Mr Dwork went on, with ‘his idea’, to become the 2007 winner of the A. Lorne Weil Outrageous Business Plan Competition, and received $100,000 in seed funding from the Eugene M. Lang Entrepreneurial Initiative Fund - which is remarkable considering the Lang Fund’s emphasis for originality.

What is outrageous is Michael Dwork appearing to grab the credit and failing to acknowledge Indian ingenuity, Indian producers and Indian exporters who have manufactured quality steam-pressed Areca plates identical to the Verterra product, and who have done so for years before Michael Dwork arrived in 2006.

For a history of the Areca plate visit:
http://www.ecovision.com.au
http://www.eco-vision.in/companyprofile.htm

This limited critique has been sent to the following:
Michael Dwork michael@verterra.com
Jeremy Caplan via Time
Time magazine
Columbia School of Business
United States Patent and Trademark Office
The New York Times
New York Post
And others.

Richard

Murwillumbah

Australia.

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.