A pioneering Scottish eco-packaging company have launched the world’s first compostable cutlery that can withstand high temperatures. Start-up enterprise Vegware, which makes products for the catering industry out of plant matter, are moving to bigger premises in order to cope with the increased demand.
The company was first established in 2006 by Edinburgh-based entrepreneur Joe Frankel. His vision was to create alternatives to plastic disposables for the catering industry. So far, Vegware have engineered the world’s first compostable insulated coffee cup, a soup container, and the cutting edge cutlery.
Caterers buying into the innovative designs are some of the country’s biggest, all looking to kit themselves out with containers and utensils suitable for organic recycling. Vegware quickly became the country’s first provider of compostable takeaway packaging.
A spokeswoman for the company said that they had developed compostable cutlery before but never any that could survive such high temperatures. She added that although plastic is a wonderful product, it is harmful to the environment when discarded in landfill sites.
Vegaware products are made from a corn-based substance known as bioplastic that need no oil to produce. Factories in Taiwan, China and England currently manufacture the Vegware items, which rather than being biodegradable, meaning they break down naturally over time, are compostable. The process is much quicker and takes place in fewer than 180 days.
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