VerTerra: Greening Your Picnic and Doing It In Style

Posted on March 11, 2009 by Cristina Foung in Home+Decor

With spring time just around the corner, you might be looking to get in some good outdoors time or dust off your picnic basket.  Instead of going with the standard paper plates, check out VerTerra’s biodegradable dinnerware made from nothing but fallen leaves and water.

With bowls, plates, and serving dishes, VerTerra’s products are:

• Made from fallen leaves (that means no extra trees are cut down)
• All natural, non-toxic, chemical and bleach free so their healthier
• Free of plastics or waxes
• 100% compostable and naturally biodegradable after 2 months
• Microwave-, oven- and refrigerator-safe

The company’s production process uses 90% less energy than recycling and they recapture 80% of water used in production.

Michael D. Dwork, the founder of VerTerra, says his inspiration came from a chance encounter in India: “As my car bumped its way down a dirt road in rural India, I saw a woman soaking leaves in water, then pressing them in a crude waffle iron.  She pulled out what looked like a plate and served food on it.”

In addition to all of that, they’re really beautiful. And just because the dinnerware is biodegradable, don’t let that fool you.  They certainly don’t have to be single use.  If you’re serving crackers or some lovely organic chips, VerTerra dishes are durable enough to wipe out and use again (just make sure they’re completely dry).  But if you’re serving something saucy or oily, a word to the wise - you’ll probably end up with a stained plate.  Only this time you don’t have to feel guilty when you toss it.  Just make sure to toss it in the compost.

Head over to the Green Home Huddle to read user reviews of VerTerra Dinnerware.  And pick up your very own VerTerra ($25 for a 12 piece sample pack) at the VerTerra website.

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