Staff Editorial: Earth-friendly but impractical: Biodegradable forks faint under the heat

By Vicky Yan
October 11, 2007

Earth-friendly additions to campus have caused unwarranted alarm in my daily eating habits.

Across campus, students can now chew their meal with biodegradable forks, knives, spoons and plates [HTML_REMOVED] items that were previously wasted in the big bad G (garbage). After using the utensils, students can throw them and any uneaten food into compost bins.

What responsible citizens, I'd say. However, after having collected a biodegradable fork for my pesto pasta, I encountered a rather bothersome realization. My fork began to mold into an awkward shape, causing my pasta to slide off in defeat. I then tried using a spoon to stir my lukewarm tea and it started to bend forward, almost painfully so.

The fact of the matter is that these creations cause more annoyance than environmental benefit. Using a melting utensil will result in using more products instead of being resourceful. More material (biodegradable or not) will be wasted, thus a need to increase productivity will arise.

Why use several deteriorating spoons made from corn when I can use a single functioning plastic one? Or better yet, what happened to the days of metal utensils?

Composting has hit a near cultural phenomenon within the past few years, especially with a renewed spike in environmental awareness on and around campus. From strategically placed compost bins to new 'organic' utensils, doing good for Mother Earth has never been so easy.

But like most trends, composting will come and go. Organic cups will be thrown to waste with Coke cans and plastic wrappers. I can accept this unavoidable fact about trends, but unfortunately, I'm not prepared to see how quickly my 100 percent biodegradable fork will melt when I twirl my pasta ever so elegantly.

I'm all for doing my part in keeping the Earth beautiful, but not at the expense of an unusable product. Plastic utensils can be used with food at just about any temperature, whereas organic products faint at the sight of fettuccini. You do the math.

I guess you can't always have your fork and use it too.

Comments

#1 Larry McIntyre

commented, on
October 18, 2007 at 7:22 p.m.:

I was interested if you have had any comments on this artical.
Thanks

#2 victoria sandiford

commented, on
February 18, 2008 at 12:01 p.m.:

Do you give up so easily on everything? Maybe it's possible to find a way to make it work.

What utensil is your hot tea in -- a disposable cup or a re-usable cup you brought with you from home? If from home, just bring along a spoon to use when you get a re-fill.

I've used biodegradable utensils and they worked fine -- maybe you need to find one that works, not necessarily the least expensive.

I've used cheap "plastic ware" which has broken in food. Cheap is cheap whether it's biodegradable or not.

I'd rather have some corn or potato starch by-product in my food than plastic by-products -- a substance called DEHA can leach from some plastic into food, and it may be carcinogenic. You can google "plastic toxins leaching into hot food" and you'll find plenty of information.

We each have to decide how much work is too much both the health of the environment (the earth) and for ourselves.

#3 Cheryl

commented, on
April 25, 2008 at 5:08 a.m.:

It seems that you were using the forks/spoons made from corn. Those are not made to withstand heat. Try the ones made of potato starch and vegetable oil! I think that may solve your problem.

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