Originally published at: Chopsticks are a massive waste problem. This company recycles them. | Boing Boing
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What I don’t get is why so few folks turn toward edible utensils or packaging. 
I think something like a sesame cracker-based chopstick that could survive an hour of being dipped in sauces would be awesome.
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Well, food technology is ever advancing, but I see an edible chopstick that can survive an hour of use, not being that edible.
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I’m reminded of this video I saw recently online. Ha. 
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(checks fridge)
Ah! Here we are… 
As for chopsticks, we end up re-using them – I’ve always put them in the top rack of the dishwasher (I’ve otherwise heard not to do that with wood/bamboo items). If not then I chuck 'em in the compost bin.
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While I get your point, do you think an entire culture would change the utensils, or even the style of food to be more in line with different utensils? I mean, many folks in western countries really depend on spoons for eating cereal in milk.
Grind up the leftovers, feed 'em to the proper animals. But then, that’s a whole other procedural change for the restaurant biz they would probably not want to adapt…
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Well FWIW I’ve seen disposable utensils that are supposed to be compostable – the local organic grocer (MOM’s) claims that everything from their lunch counter can be composted. The plastic utensils they offer at Trader Joe’s (based on what I recall) have a similar look/feel to MOM’s but I don’t know if they’re the same thing.
(P.S. the imported injera as shown isn’t sustainable, seeing how they fly it in* – but it is GF which is a concern for one of us here. I’ve brought up the possibility of making our own, like we did when we couldn’t run out and buy it (and like @thekaz did a while back), but that’s easy for me to say as I’m not the one who knows how to make it)
*(P.P.S. that flight operates daily whether we buy that injera or not, but now I’m just thinking of excuses…)
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I have a selection of reusable chopsticks for home. I reuse “disposable” chopsticks for a variety of purposes - from unclogging pipes to marking seed plantings in the garden to mini-stakes connected by twine for marking a boundary for a new patio, they are very handy!
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and how hard is it to carry one’s own fork around
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When I lived in Japan in the late 90s, used chopsticks in the work cafeteria went in a separate bin. I just assumed they were being recycled …
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Based on my very limited experience, in Korea they tend to more often use metal chopsticks than those made from disposable wood. Yeah, they’re a bit trickier for westerners like myself to use, but it seems like a good idea.
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I bought a set of coasters from ChopValue a few years back and they were a total waste of money. After a few uses, they warped and cracked. They looked great and I loved the concept, but do not buy any of ChopValue’s products if you are going to put anything wet or cold on them.
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If you’re interested in a video on this company, Business Insider did one last year:
But also, I’m still wondering how they clean off the used chopsticks. I don’t quite buy this line from the AtlasObscura article:
To remove any trace of food waste, the chopsticks are first coated in a water-based resin
Because that seems like they are just coating the food waste in resin, not cleaning it off.
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the chopsticks are first coated in a water-based resin, then sterilized at 200 degrees Fahrenheit in a specialized oven for five hours. A hydraulic machine then breaks the wood down into a composite board, which is sanded, polished, and lacquered as necessary.
That seems like quite a lot of resources (on top of those required to collect the sticks in the first place) being used to reuse some bamboo bits. I often wonder just how sustainable projects like this actually are… bamboo being famously fast-growing and even 11,000 chopsticks don’t amount to much compared to the enormous amount of waste produced in the US just around food (much less construction, etc.).
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Surely the injera arrives by container ship?
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I was thinking the same thing. Plus, wouldn’t bamboo sticks be the kind of thing that won’t hurt anything in the landfill? It’s just wood - it decays.
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