Innovative Tableware Tackles Plastic Waste

Tariff troubles? ECOTENSILS ARE MADE IN THE USA

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Tariff troubles? ECOTENSILS ARE MADE IN THE USA

Delighting customers with tasting samples and maintaining sustainable business practices need not be mutually exclusive with the release of two new disposable tableware ranges into the New Zealand market.

With a focus on practicality, aesthetic appeal and eco-friendliness, the EcoTensil and Natural Tableware ranges offer businesses compostable plates, bowls, utensils and sample tasters sure to please the most discerning of customers.

Distributed in New Zealand by Epicure Trading, both ranges offer an extra edge in the competitive environments of food sampling, festivals and events that increasingly see chefs taking their kitchens on the road. The EcoTensil range of disposable spoons are transforming a once wasteful class of products into some of the most sustainable and highly space-efficient utensils available. In just one fold, these pleasingly smooth paperboard products become a hip little tasting utensil, perfect for impressing customers with just a few bites. The EcoTaster, available in mini and mid sizes, uses much less material than other tasters, yet still offers an almost full-sized “bowl”, making for a more satisfying sample than those found on tiny, plastic tasters. They’re suitable for most foods, including chunky deli salads and soups. The Eco-iScoop, also made from sustainable, silky-smooth paperboard, is the revolutionary ice cream taster that’s surprisingly sturdy and material efficient. The Eco-iScoops can also be used for firmer foods, including cheeses or fudge. Catherine Bell, owner of distributor Epicure Trading, says the EcoTensil and Natural Tableware ranges are ideal for businesses committed to sustainable practices. “Serving up delicious morsels on disposable plates or tasters no longer needs to be a wasteful process,” she says. “For many customers, knowing where single-use products have come from and what will happen to them following their use is becoming increasingly important, so these ranges are perfect for putting consumers's minds at ease about one-taste plastic waste’.” Epicure Trading is the appointed distributor of EcoTensil and Natural Tableware for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. Natural Tableware's products are made from organic, renewable sources using methods that minimise waste and reuse resources as much as possible. It delivers five ranges of bagasse (sugarcane fibre) dishes and “rest wood” cutlery that offer chefs a variety of options for plating and serving up their menus. The products bring together sustainability, quality and design, with one plate that can be served on both sides and others that are able to withstand high temperatures in combi-steam ovens, as well as cooler temperatures in refrigerators and freezer units. And Natural Tableware's cutlery line is the premium natural alternative to standard silverware. Aesthetically pleasing, these utensils also have a thin, natural wax coating to eliminate any dry, “wooden” taste. Made from “rest wood”, a sustainable, renewable resource in Asia, Natural Cutlery is biodegradable and will dissolve in compost within 49 days.
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1 October Sean SeddonBBC News

A ban on some single-use plastic products will come into force across England on Sunday.

Shops and hospitality businesses will no longer be able to supply plastic cutlery, balloon sticks and polystyrene cups under the new rules.

The government says the move will "tackle the scourge of litter and protect the environment from plastic pollution".

But councils have warned that some firms are not ready for the change.

Around 1.1 billion single-use plates and more than four billion pieces of plastic cutlery are used in England every year, government s suggest.

The vast majority of these products cannot be recycled and can take hundreds of years to biodegrade in landfill sites.

From Sunday, some new restrictions will also be applied to the supply of single-use plastic plates, bowls, and trays - but exemptions are in place for takeaways and other businesses which sell pre-packaged food.

The new rules, which were first announced in January, are part of a wider goal to eliminate avoidable plastic waste by .

Environment minister Rebecca Pow said the government has already implemented "world-leading" bans on straws, stirrers and cotton buds, as well as rolling out charges for carrier bags and an industry tax on large plastic packaging imports.

She said the latest ban will "protect the environment and help to cut litter - stopping plastic pollution dirtying our streets and threatening our wildlife".

Rules vary in different parts of the UK, but Wales and Scotland have pursued similar policies to those coming into force in England.

The ban in England will be enforced by local trading standards officials but a body representing councils warned some businesses and customers are unaware of the change.

Darren Rodwell, environment spokesman for the LGA, said: "This is a valuable policy to reduce waste but there is still more to do."

Some environmental campaigners have criticised the government for not introducing wider restrictions on plastic products.

Anna Diski, plastics campaigner for Greenpeace UK, told the BBC: "Legislating token bans on a few single-use plastic items every few years... [is] completely inadequate to the scale of the problem.