CHUK: Made of Sugarcane Fibre, Disposable Biodegradable Tableware Composts in Just 2 Months

Made From Sugarcane Waste And Can Biodegrade Itself Into Manure

CHUK: How this sustainable paper business beat all odds

Making compostable tableware items

Right from pens, water bottles, salt sachets, and chips packets to single-use cutlery, almost every item has an element of plastic that will easily take 500 years to decompose itself. Alarmed by this dreadful reality, Uttar Pradesh-based Ved Krishna came up with a solution to the ever-growing pile of plastic in the form of edible cutlery. Through his tableware range CHUK, he came out with an alternative to plastic plates, bowls, containers, and lids.

The cutlery is made out of sugarcane waste which decomposes itself into manure a few months after its disposal. The organization has retained the natural brown color of pulp and avoided using bleach which is a harmful chemical used often in other conventional options. What’s more? One can easily microwave or put the tableware in the oven to warm the food and freeze it when necessary.

Yash Pakka Ltd is present in more than 30 countries, including local grocery markets in Iran and the UAE. Ved says that the sustainable packaging market is vast and has a presence of many players. Andhra Paper Ltd, Agip Paper and Industries Ltd, Astron Paper, and Board Mill to name a few.

A research study by TerraChoice, a global marketing company, revealed a 73 percent growth in the eco-friendly product market over the last five to seven years with new companies and products making their entry.

“The growth of the market is also high. You see, people eat three meals a day – counting to 90 in a month and more than 1,000 a year. If we penetrate in the daily lives of users, giving them sustainable products, the growth of the industry can only be imagined,” Ved states.

Another element on which the brand prides itself is the implementation of strict quality control measures.

How Plates Made From Sugarcane Could Help India’s Plastic Problem | World Wide Waste

“I remember the Chinese team which supplied us the technology came into our facility once and went through our reject pile. They called us crazy, asking why we were rejecting these products. We looked at one of the pieces, and a little fiber was missing, which means you could see light through it, although nothing would leak. This, they argued, was creating losses for us. We responded by saying that it’s about best practices. If we pass an item that is seen through, it could result in a dip in quality because our people may pass something which leaks. We cannot take that risk,” he says.

However, 1 million (10 lakh) pieces a day are made by the venture, and thus there will be one or two that may not be up to their best standard. “Nonetheless, if there is a customer quality complaint, we will take the product back. We also have an in-house research team to study products our customers have rejected for improvements,” he adds.

They believe that this spirit will enable Chuk’s emergence as a global leader in this industry.

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