Aiming to reduce the use of plastic and raise awareness on the environmental protection, the Costa Rican enterprise Ecoware will bring utensils made of wheat bran into the country. These wheat-bran dishes are made in Varsovia, Poland, by a company called Biotrem.
The main goal is to sell this plate in the country and reduce the dependence on products made of plastic and carton, which cause damage to the environment.
“This idea that involves the production of wheat-bran plates aims to replace the poliopack plastic bowls in restaurants. This item can’t be likened with any other plastic plates or bioplastic cooking utensils. Wheat-bran plates and bowls degrade after 30 days especially if they have been contantly in contact with water for that period of time” – said Esteban Jimenez, general manager of Ecoware.
Wheat-bran dishes are the result of a process that involves grounding and processing the wheat grains chemical components that are celulose, polysachharides, proteins, fats, minerals and water. The raw material is comprssed by a machine that only uses pressure and vapor to shape the products without any additives.
“A plate made of paper takes at least 6 months to degrade, a bioplastic dish takes longer to go through such process (2 years). On the other side, plastic plates can withstand degradation for centuries. Biotrem products can be stored for long periods of time provided that the storage site is free of humidity” – Jimenez said.
Flat plates are available in all shapes: large, medium-sized oval, bowl-shaped and a special line for alcoholic drinks, sauce and ice-cream.
Ecoware is a Costa Rican enterprise devoted to manufacturing and distributing eco-friendly products, aiming to finance projects that promote the conservation of the dirtiest rivers in Costa Rica located in the Metropolitan area. Ecoware is currently working on an environmental program.
“We want to apply a sustainable project development based on the social business accountability. Today, the companies play an important role in the social welfare development. This role involves the economic growth, social progress, protection of the enviroment, and the improvement of the standard of living.”
In order to clean the rivers, Jimenez remarked that all the social sectors and the government are necessary in this social task. Furthermore, the Monte de Oca mayor has already had meetings with other bcompany owners to get this project started once the money is available.
Jimenez also added that the products made of natural raw material have been in the market since August this year.