Hemp disposable tableware is launched in the USA
Hemp products, at a price comparable to traditional ones, have exclusive mechanical properties, as well as the possibility of recycling after they have worked out their intended life with minimal or no impact on the environment.
US manufacturer of eco-friendly packaging and clothing, GreenTek Packaging has released the first batch of disposable hemp tableware. Disposable spoons, forks, knives marketed under the "Hemptensils" trademark are made using natural elements, including the ingredients of industrial hemp grown in the USA, and the above products are 100% biodegradable.
The company purchases processed hemp trusts from cannabis growers, which are later converted into granules, which are then combined with certain enzymes that can catalyze the decomposition of disposable tableware after it has been used.
After mixing, the resulting mixture is heated and injected into a special mold for making Hemptensils disposable forks, spoons, knives at GreenTek Packaging's production facilities. It should be noted that the shelf life of disposable hemp cookware reaches four years.
The founder of GreenTek Packaging, who developed the technology, claims that “Hemptensils offers a sustainable alternative to the dominance of plastic products that relies on the ability to recycle used products in an environmentally friendly manner. By using the Hemptensils-branded disposable hemp products, both end consumers and industries can play a positive role in creating not only a green, healthy future, but also participating in a sustainable energy efficient economy. ”
Commentary of experts of the Association "Ukrainian technical hemp"
In addition to the production of disposable hemp tableware, GreenTek Packaging produces packaging, paper boxes, shipping labels, seals, stickers, cosmetic products from hemp raw materials, with the addition of polymers obtained from the recycling of already used plastic packaging. The aforementioned products, at a price comparable to traditional ones, have exclusive mechanical properties, as well as the possibility of recycling after they have worked out their service life with minimal or no impact on the environment. The company has partnered with hemp straw preprocessing facilities / trusts in California, Kentucky, and North Dakota, and is in talks with several agricultural cooperatives that provide hemp semi-finished products to it for high value-added end products. GreenTek Packaging products are currently being marketed in the United States and Canada.
At the moment, only in the economically developed countries of the world, the question of the need to recycle disposable products, most of them bearing a significant burden on the environment in the process of their disposal, is actively raised. Unfortunately, this problem, which is acutely facing the national economy, does not find adequate attention for implementation in national projects aimed at creating an ecological alternative to plastic based on technologies, including those related to the use of the exclusive properties of hemp raw materials. This problem, among other things, was raised during the round table " Hemp raw materials - technologies for its use in construction, production of biocomposite materials and furniture ", which was held within the framework of the third course of training for students of the " Hemp University ". It can be argued that individual national companies are conducting experiments aimed at creating biocomposite materials produced on the basis of the exclusive physical and mechanical properties of hemp raw materials, however, created in Ukraine or already existing national technologies are still far from bringing them to the level of commercial use.