This year's World Environment Day, with its theme 'beat plastic pollution', was a loud call to global citizens to wake up to one of the greatest environmental challenges of present day. According to a study by US scientists in 2017, the amount of plastic ever made amounts to 8.3 billion tonnes—as heavy as 25,000 Empire State Buildings in New York, or a billion elephants. What's tragic is that over 70 per cent of this is now waste, and have found their way to landfills or the natural environment.
As we head towards a 'plastic planet', efforts are on to reduce dependency on single use plastic. Edible cutlery—plates, bowls, spoons and even chopsticks—are being developed as part of a slow revolution to eliminate the use of disposable plastic from the food industry which happens to be one of the biggest producers of plastic waste.
“Our products are made of normal food ingredients of plant origin. So one can have them like food,” says Shaila Gurudutt, founder and director of Bengaluru-based Gajamukha Foods that manufactures edible cutlery under the brand name EdiblePro. She co-founded the venture with her former colleague Lakshmi Bheemachar. EdiblePro features an array of edible plates, spoons, forks, ice cream sticks and bowls.
The eco-friendly, biodegradable cutlery can either be eaten or disposed in a compost pit. If you leave them in the soil, they get decomposed in a week.
“Plastic, in any form, can have potentially harmful effects,” says Gurudutt. ''They can cause endocrine disruptions, dermatitis and even cancer.”
India is grappling with the issue of mounting non-degradable waste and disposable plates and cups add to it. “Plastic takes more than 400 years to degenerate. Use and throw plates accummulate in large quantities in landfills and create an imbalance in the eco system that we live in. Animals die eating them,” says Gurudutt adding that sustainable products like edible utensils are the need of the hour.
Edible cutlery can withstand contact with water and are suitable for all climatic conditions.
Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), one of the pioneers in manufacturing edible cutlery in the country, created quite a buzz two years ago with its edible bowls made of tortilla. The innovation made KFC's 'Rice Bowlz' all the more popular.
Narayana Peesapaty, founder and managing director of Bakey's Food Private Limited, Hyderabad who came up with edible spoons plans to add forks, cups, plates and salad bowls to his product line. Peesapaty's edible spoons are made from grains and millets like rice, wheat and jowar. “We charge Rs 300 for a box of 100 spoons,” he says adding that he has a loyal customer base.
The spoons that are meant for single use have a long shelf life of 18 months. “Moisture could provide a breeding ground for microbes. We dehydrate the spoons to increase their shelf life. We don't use any preservatives at all,” says Peesapaty. The cutlery can be purchased online. Bakey's currently gets orders even from countries like UK, USA, Canada, Australia and Germany.
“We don't want to make edible plates. After a meal, you will have no room left for a plate,'' he says. Peepasaty has a reason for not making ice cream sticks as well. “The regular sticks you get in the market are made of wood. They don't harm the environment. We are more keen on finding viable alternatives to plastic.”