How to Turn Leaves into Plates?

Let’s look at the facts – the human population is in a serious trouble. The United Nations Environmental Program showed us the problem of useless and harmful plastics in the world. Between 22% and 43% of the plastic we use in the world is wasted and polluted. Every 2 seconds, someone cuts a forest the size of a soccer field. Annually, it is 13 hectares of wood and this is the size of England. The next problem is the mountains of rubbish that people create. In one year, these trash mountains can reach sizes similar to Mount Everest, so it’s more than 1 billion tons per year. This does not sound good.

Due to these facts, a company from Munich in Germany, Leaf republic, believes that something must be done for the good of the natural environment. They came up with the idea to create completely natural dishes. In this way, the company wants to reduce the waste of plastics in the world. The plates they made are made of 100% leaves. They did not add any toxic and chemical substances to the production of leaf plates. Such a natural product is completely renewable and quickly decomposes in the environment. The company has designed all tableware that is biodegradable after use and can even be used in the compost of any household.

But how does it work? And how, you may ask, to make a plate out of the leaf? The top and bottom of the leaf plate are sewn together with palm leaf fibers. Inside the plate is a layer of paper, also made of leaves. It makes that the entire plate made of leaf is waterproof. This is how the company turn this useful resource into and everyday item. What is also interesting, the natural decomposition of this plate takes only 28 days. This is much faster than plastic plates, which stay in the environment for up to 730,000 days. As you can see, the difference is without comparison.

How does the manufacturing process looks like? From beginning to end by the company of the Leaf republic. They started with sketches, to computer renders, from 3D prints of prototypes to CNC machining. The company created its first semi-automatic prototyping machine. The quality of the prototypes is controlled in Germany, not far from Munich.

Leaf republic was successful in this year’s Kickstarter campaign. Thanks to this, the company was able to improve the production of its products and send them to their customers. Now outdoor tableware sets are available for purchase on Amazon. You can also order trays (size 23 / 3×9.5) and plates in three sizes (S – diameter 18 cm, M – diameter 21 cm, L – diameter 25 cm). Each product costs € 9.99 (About $ 11). Let’s create a greener world!