“I like these plates and bowls. What are they made of? Paper?” Scorch said, feeling the surface of her cutlery.
“No, Scorch. They’re made of sugarcane fiber in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, India. All of these plates, bowls, trays, and containers are 100% biodegradable,” Felix said.
Biodegradable means having the ability to be decomposed (decay) by bacteria or other living organisms, thus reducing pollution. Plastic is non-biodegradable. It cannot be broken down into organic matter or consumed by animals. That’s why plastic causes pollution.
“Made here? By whom? Who makes this eco-friendly tableware?” Scorch said, feeding her curiosity and of course, her tummy with the yummy food in the sugarcane plates.
Felix began explaining, “The line of biodegradable tableware is called Chuk. Yash Pakka Limited is Chuk’s parent company that was established by KK Jhunjhunwala. Chuk products are mainly used to package food by food manufacturers. And since Chuk is free of toxins, manufacturers know that their customers are eating safe food.
Yash Pakka takes waste sugarcane fiber from sugar factories (sugar is made of sugarcane), turns it into a pulp, and then molds it into the desired tableware shapes. Before 2019, the company was Yash Papers and it only made papers. After that, it became Yash Pakka and transformed itself into a sustainable packaging company.”
“What a great idea! I love it! I hope more companies like Yash Pakka are born all around the world,” Scorch said.