I just had a bowl of cereal, in a palm leaf. No I’m not on a tropical island. Nor am I on a eco commune. I’m here in snowy Grass Valley, trying out the new line of compostable serviceware from Verterra. And I have to say I’m very impressed.

I’ve used quite a lot of eco friendly compostable & biodegradable plates, utensils, cups, etc. in my time, and these are the best I’ve come across.

[social_buttons]Why? They are both aesthetically interesting and durable. Verterra can’t say it, but I can: They’re reusable. Since their surface is one piece of material, rather than a composite of several fibers, as in how how paper is made, they have greater structural integrity. That means that they don’t fall apart. This is the second set of samples I’ve gotten from them, these being from their soon to be released Signature line, and so far I’ve been able to reuse a bowl four times.



Some who are familiar with the original Indian plates these take their inspiration from may ask, what’s so different about these?

To start, they’re UV sterilized. They are steam and chill treated, enabling them to be shaped in numerous interesting forms, including their new bowls, and with this process, akin to tempering, they are made quite sturdy. The manufacturing process is done by employees paid a living wage, with access to health care, in a highly energy efficient factory. And in something I’ve not seen elsewhere, they can be used in an oven for 45 minutes at 350 degrees F.

Verterra grew out of CEO Michael Dwork’s travels through India, where he saw street vendors serving food on plates they made on the spot, pressing in waffle iron like devices, to be eaten off of and disposed of with no waste issue to contend with, as they’d naturally biodegrade, being leaves.

He set about to make them durable, water resistant, and attractive to the modern American eye. After much testing, they settled on a proprietary layering of different parts of the palm leaf, so that they were water resistant where food and liquid met the surface, eliminating the need for coating them, and the sappy quality of the middle layer served to glue all three layers together, without the need for synthetic or otherwise external glues or binders.

The results have been impressive. I already was a fan of the first line that came out earlier this year, but now, they have simplified and refined the execution, and somehow found a way to make them stronger. And the line has greatly expanded, with two different bowls, platters, and plates that range from the drink or party snack friendly 4″x4″ square plates to 14″ x 16″ platters.

As a catering friend said, these would be a boon, comparably priced to renting serviceware, and eliminating the need for washing afterwords, sans the guilt of disposing of them, since they biodegrade, even if thrown away, and compost in 2 months in a consumer level (as in non professional) compost environment.

And for anybody doing an event that wants a little something different, made from what would have otherwise been agricultural waste, burnt, these are a great option.

Readers: What other bio based serviceware have you tried, like? Where else have you seen what would have been “waste” put to use in creative, useful ways? Ever used Verterra yourself? What’s been your experience?

Image Credit: Theodore Samuels