U of G develops eco-friendly cutlery to reduce plastic waste, CO2
Author: Barbara Latkowski
Steve De Brabandere, director of technology transfer and industry liaison at U of G’s Research Innovation Office, says plastic products should be recycled, but instead, often end up in landfill sites.
“Compostable cutlery makes it both easier to reuse and more environmentally friendly when disposed of. This is a step in the right direction,” De Brabandere said.
Both product lines are made of waste coffee material and biopolymers in a certified industrially compostable biocomposite resin created by researchers in U of G’s Bioproducts Discovery and Development Centre (BDDC).
“We are turning coffee bean skins into cutlery,” said Amar Mohanty, BDDC director and a professor cross-appointed in the department of plant agriculture within the Ontario Agricultural College and the School of Engineering in the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences at the university.
“We want to reduce dependence on fossil polymers and waste plastics and the amount of carbon going into the atmosphere," he said.
Mohanty says the diversion of coffee chaff from landfills can significantly reduce carbon emissions.