Compostable cutlery: GreenTek Packaging introduces hemp-based disposable utensils

15 Sep 2020 --- GreenTek Packaging has rolled out a “first-in-kind” hemp-based disposable utensils line, Hemptensils. The range includes compostable forks, spoons and knives.

As an alternative to plastic, Hemptensils are 100 percent bio-based and made without petroleum. They can be broken down through heat and bacteria into water, air and carbon dioxide.

“There are 40 billion single use utensils used in the US every year, of which barely nine percent are recycled. And considering the fact that businesses are using more plastic during the COVID-19 pandemic than they previously were, there could be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050,” says Jordan Hinshaw, GreenTek founder.

“Working solely with US hemp growers gives us the ability to strengthen our economy. Essentially, by using Hemptensils products, consumers and businesses can play their part to create both a greener, healthier future and a much more sustainable economy.”

Should the products end up in a landfill, they will not be detrimental to the environment. The products also have a shelf life of more than four years.

GreenTek is currently selling Hemptensils products on e-commerce channels, including its own website, Amazon, Facebook and Instagram.

Hemptensils have a shelf life of more than four years.Additionally, GreenTek puts a major focus manufacturing in accordance with the federal legalization of industrial hemp with less than 0.3 percent tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

GreenTek purchases processed, decorticated hemp that has been converted into petroleum-free hemp pellets to produce its Hemptensils products. 

At its facility in Long Beach, the company combines pellets with decomposition-accelerating enzymes, heats the mixture, and then injection-presses it into a custom mold.

Customized bio-based packaging
The company partners with US-based growers in California, Kentucky and North Dakota and is in talks with other co-ops that represent hundreds of acres of hemp in the Midwest to see what can be done to reduce their waste profiles. 

In addition to Hemptensils, GreenTek manufactures hemp polymer cosmetic containers and secondary packaging products. The hemp polymer cosmetic containers offer a solution to the billions of temporary plastic containers produced only to be thrown away. 

From exterior hemp paper boxes to compostable shipping labels, seals and stickers, GreenTek’s secondary packaging products provide the essential accessories “for purists and enthusiasts alike.” GreenTek's design team also offers additional custom, bio-based packaging options.

GreenTek is working on inking multiple distribution deals to get its product into grocers and restaurants. The company has a partnership with Follow The Leader Distribution, based in Vancouver, Canada.

GreenTek has further plans to start selling new hemp straw products, with a launch date to be announced.

Big moves in bio-based
Bio-based packaging is making strides in line with the ubiquitous sustainability drive. In recent headlines, Impact Snacks’ ambition to package its superfoods snack bars in 100 percent biodegradable and compostable soy-based wrapping prompted 285 backers to pledge nearly US$33,000 in funding.

Innovators at Woodly have developed a new type of plastic derived from softwood cellulose that mimics the functionalities of conventional fossil-based plastics, with targets of a 2021 rollout. 

With targets of sustaining a circular packaging economy, upcycled olive stone waste from Aimplas and sheep wool-based packaging from Woola are also seeing market potential.

Also in this space, Hansen Packaging specializes in bio-composite resins and jars made from renewable resources including hemp. In Canada, the first nationwide cannabis packaging recycling program was rolled out by recycling experts TerraCycle and cannabis brand Tweed.

Edited by Benjamin Ferrer