Americans thow away a trillion disposable plates every year. Almost all of them are made from plastic-coated paper.
Michael Dwork, on holiday in India in 2006, was impressed by street vendors who served their snacks on leaves. Dwork traveled through southern Asia looking for the perfect leaf that could be developed into a disposable plate that would appeal to Americans. He finally settled on a type of palm leaf which is common in India.
Dwork developed a plate which contains no plastics, waxes or other chemicals. They can be safely used in a microwave, conventional oven or freezer and can be hand washed for re-use. The plates biodegrade after about six weeks.
Dwork has set up a company, Verterra, to manufacture the plates in India. At about 75 cents each, they are much more expensive than plastic-coated paper plates but cheaper than single-use bamboo plates.
Verterra’s leaf material has drawn interest from manufacturers in other fields including packaging and for temporary furniture and flooring for exhibits.
Thanks for the informative article. I consult for Verterra, and would be glad to answer any questions people might have about them. I’ll track the comments on here, so even if it’s a month from now, I’ll be back to answer.
Some other interesting things to know is that they can be used in an oven, 45 minutes at 350 degrees. They take hot foods with ease, and since they’re only leaves, there’s no toxic binders to leech into your food.
Time magazine recently did a photo essay showing how they go from being fallen Palm tree leaves to these great plates. Check it out here: http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1846838,00.html
Critique of Michael Dwork, founder of Verterra
I am an occasional reader of Time magazine and stumbled upon a business article by Jeremy Caplan on Verterra Dinnerware in the October 13, 2008 edition (Australian) of Time (page 52). Also at: http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1706699_1707550_1846340,00.html
Jeremy Caplan’s article is careful not to over-state or claim. However, it strongly implies that Michael Dwork had an “idea” in southern India in 2006, that Mr Dwork developed his idea with “engineer friends”, “crossed Asia to find plants for his plates”, “through Laos, Thailand and Cambodia”, “testing dozens”, “in search of the perfect leaf” and so on. Before settling on a palm leaf in southern India – wow.
I think it should be known that plates and bowls steam-pressed from the leaf-base (sheath) of the Areca (the so called ‘betel nut’) palm (Areca catechu) have been manufactured in southern India since long before 2006.
Indeed, in 2006, steam-pressed Areca palm plates and bowls were already in Indian city stores and on display at trade expos in southern India, and have been imported into Australia with the name of Eco-Vision Bioplate since 2005 or earlier. Areca plates have also been imported into Germany, Switzerland and United Kingdom since or before 2003.
Jeremy Caplan’s article includes a photo of Mr Dwork leaning on a small palm tree. I can say, with reasonable certainty, that this small palm is of the species Areca catechu, the common, plantation, Areca palm.
It seems Mr Dwork copied a well established product (material and method) and imported Areca plates into the US market – which is hardly an “entrepreneurial gamble” and is definitely not an original idea.
Mr Dwork was a member of the ‘entrepreneurship class’ at Columbia School of Business. Mr Dwork went on, with ‘his idea’, to become the 2007 winner of the A. Lorne Weil Outrageous Business Plan Competition, and received $100,000 in seed funding from the Eugene M. Lang Entrepreneurial Initiative Fund – which is remarkable considering the Lang Fund’s emphasis for originality.
What is outrageous is Michael Dwork appearing to grab the credit and failing to acknowledge Indian ingenuity, Indian producers and Indian exporters who have manufactured quality steam-pressed Areca plates identical to the Verterra product, and who have done so for years before Michael Dwork arrived in 2006.
For a history of the Areca plate visit:
http://www.ecovision.com.au
http://www.eco-vision.in/companyprofile.htm
This limited critique has been sent to the following:
Michael Dwork michael@verterra.com
Jeremy Caplan via Time
Time magazine
Columbia School of Business
United States Patent and Trademark Office
The New York Times
New York Post
And others.
Richard – Murwillumbah, Australia.
30th October 2008.
Critique of Michael Dwork and Verterra – continuation.
The overdeveloped salesmanship practiced by Michael Dwork and Verterra includes the assertion that shipping palm leaf sheaths from India to New York is okay because rural people would otherwise only burn the sheaths. This claim by Verterra is deceptive.
Although palm leaves may sometimes be burnt for mosquito control, it is arrogant for Mr Dwork to infer that Indian farmers are not aware of the benefits of putting organic material into the soil (composting/mulch).
Also, in rural India cooking is usually over a fire, and dried palm sheaths are an excellent fuel for the domestic fireplace. Removing Areca palm sheaths from rural areas may have unforeseen impacts, as other sources of cooking fuel need to be collected from the forest or fields.
Verterra are proud to own extensive production facilities in India, which is, no doubt, the optimum for New York based Verterra’s balance sheet.
Although Verterra’s facilities provide employment, its wider value for rural development is questionable, and may even be detrimental for rural self-esteem, as the villager labours for the foreign company that stole ‘their’ product.
Other producers of Areca plates include village cooperatives, the greater benefit for rural development would be obvious.
If your concern is to support rural development in India, please consider Areca products from village manufacture.
I like to have Areca palm containers for display in the home. However, from the environmental perspective, the promotion of any single-use dishware is not appropriate – unless intended for areas with serious water shortages.
In Australia, artists make delightful baskets and ‘sculpture’ from the leaf sheaths of the Bangalow palm Archontophoenix cunninghamiana, which is also an Arecaceae Palmae.
Richard – Murwillumbah, Australia.
Yes, I am a frequent visitor to India, and I do not have any financial interest in any business associated with Areca products.
14th November 2008.
I have been contacted by Mr Michael Dwork. He disputes my critiques, I believe my comments to be valid, readers may choose to disregard my previous posts, and should make their own inquires.
Richard – Murwillumbah, Australia.