Fallen Leaf & Plate
Pressed from leaves swept off the forest floor, back in the soil within weeks.
Made Wirawan, Former hotel managerGianyar, Bali, Indonesia
Made Wirawan ran the kitchen side of a large hotel and signed off the order for disposable plates every Monday. Walking out one evening, Made noticed the fallen areca sheaths piled up for burning.
They were stiff, clean, and already the size of a plate.
“We threw away four thousand plastic plates a week. The answer was lying under the trees outside.”
Single-use plastic tableware is among the most common waste on any coastline. It is too light and too dirty to recycle and too cheap to reuse.
Areca palms shed their leaf sheaths naturally. Nothing is cut down: the sheaths are gathered from the ground.
Each sheath is soaked, heat-pressed into shape, and dried in the sun. No glue, no coating.
The plates hold hot food and sauces, and break down in a garden compost within about eight weeks.