Potatoes Even Low Carb Fanatics Can Appreciate – SpudWare

Last week I was having dinner with some friends when the conversation turned “green”. One of my friends mentioned that Disney uses potato cutlery. That struck me as very odd and stayed with me. I decided to look into it because during the barbequing blog, I remember thinking of the difficulties with home barbeques around saving and washing the eating utensils. For bigger barbeques, that’s a lot of washing. Also, some guests accidentally discard the cutlery. So, when I heard about potato cutlery, my interest was piqued. Could this work?

The answer to that question is…….yes! This cutlery seems ready for prime time. You don’t have to feel guilty about discarding it, and it can be washed and reused too! Because these utensils are made to withstand high heat so as not to melt in your hot beverages, they take a long time to break down in your average garden composter. However, they will break down in a landfill in about 6 months, or they can also be professionally composted. That’s good, right? They are lightweight, and reports say that they are at least as durable as plastic. One article seemed to give the utensils some really crazy stress testing, and they held up well.

I’ve heard of a couple drawbacks. The knives don’t cut quite as well as conventional cutlery, and with overnight water exposure, the utensils can get a little tacky. For now, potato cutlery is also a little more spendy than traditional, low-cost plastic utensils. However, I searched the net and found that potato cutlery is more available than I thought. I even found it offered at reduced prices on some websites. One place to buy it in bulk is at treecycle.com.

So is this cutlery really made from potatoes? Yes, it is! SpudWare cutlery is made from 80% potato starch and 20% soybean oil. I love the name too – SpudWare – very cute. Now, if they could only make strong, edible cutlery out of chocolate, I would be sure to never pick up another plastic eating utensil.

Have you heard of any unique “green” products made out of recycled or natural materials? Share it with us here.