In order to make your fastest meals come together with eco-responsibility, German company Leaf Republic has devised a biodegradable alternative to cardboard or plastic plates in proposing leaf plates. After edible cutlery, here is the green plate. Fully biodegradable, they decompose in less than a month. The perfect ally for a picnic. But this is not their only asset: the plates also resist water, demodishing along the way their cardboard counterpart. And between us, eating in a leaf, will really makes you adventurous or spice up your life in the office.
In January 2020, France will become the first country to ban cutlery, plates and plastic glasses; the ones you take when you make an evening or a picnic. Plastics have become the scourge of humanity with, for example, 9.5 million tons per year in the oceans. Not to mention the unused plots of land filled with our bottles and packaging. Based on this observation, a company has set itself the task of finding an alternative to this disposable and polluting tableware.
It is natural, chemical-free, water-resistant and there was no need to cut trees.
Originally, Leaf Republic’s goal was to create a non-polluting outdoor cutlery. It was in their living room that Pedram Zolgadri and Carolin Fiechter, the two creators, imagined the first drafts of the project. Thanks to CAD (Computer Aided Design), the company was able to design this self-destructive innovation. What does it look like? Several sheets are sewn together with fibres of palm leaves. Each plate is divided into three distinct layers: leaves on top, a layer of paper (made of leaves obviously) and a last layer of leaves underneath to solidify the whole.
The German company proposes green plates, “as renewable and biodegradable as a leaf that falls from a tree” we can read on the website of Leaf Republic. “The population is growing and its consumption also. The packaging market is of an impressive size in the world and now is the time to revolutionise it. This tableware is made with leaves, glued and pressed With no chemicals, water-resistant, and there was no need to cut down trees. These plates made of leaves could almost be thrown into the wild as they 28 days to decompose,” they explained.
Leaf Republic buys the leaves in Asia and South America, where the leaves are part of the diet. Indeed, in these regions, they are used not only in preparations, but are also used as containers or dishes. It is not uncommon to use banana leaves, for example, as dishes.
The design and manufacture of this dish of the future have taken years It is not free, for the moment as you will have to pay 46,41 Euros for 100 plates while a basic plate cost 39 centimes. And this Eco-friendly range is made up of several different products: one can also buy sushi plates “Izumi” (34.81 Euros for 75 units) or French fries Emily trays at 34.81 Euros per 100.
The German company plans to expand and make the product accessible to one and all. After all, a sausage on a leaf on the beach is still classier than on a white plastic plate.
