The increased use of disposable plates over the past decade has changed the way we eat, but unfortunately, it's also had a negative impact on our planet. Being durable and cheap, most single-use dishes contain dangerous chemicals and release dangerous pollutants that can cause disease and even cancer.

Thankfully, there are sustainable alternatives to tableware, such as disposable wooden plates. Switching to eco-friendly cutlery not only helps protect the environment and slow down climate change, but it can also extend human life. Switching to eco-friendly tableware is easier than you think, and it won't break the bank.

Environmental protection is a broad term used to describe things that are not harmful to the environment. Therefore, eco-friendly tableware refers to tableware that does not negatively impact the environment, whether it breaks down quickly, is easy to recycle, or is compostable.

Overall, we should strive to replace all plastics with environmentally friendly alternatives. This can be done in a number of ways, such as using reusable water bottles and using reusable shopping bags. However, switching to eco-friendly cutlery is a major way to reduce your carbon footprint and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Here are 5 reasons why you should switch to eco-friendly tableware:

First, it reduces pollution in our oceans. Every year, the oceans are polluted with 18 billion pounds of single-use plastic—that's 5 bags of plastic waste for every foot of shoreline in the world! Environmental plates never go into the ocean.

They are made from 100% natural materials such as wood and palm leaves, which means they are completely biodegradable. Within a few weeks, these plates will completely disappear, returning their nutrients to Earth

Eco-friendly cutlery can be recycled or composted and will biodegrade on its own. This reduces the amount of waste we send to landfill each year. Of the 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic ever produced, a whopping 79% ends up in landfills. If this continues, there will be 12 billion metric tons of plastic in landfills by 2050. Specifically, that's the equivalent of 35,000 Empire State Buildings. If eco-friendly boards end up in a landfill, they will decompose and release nutrients into the soil within a few weeks, compared to hundreds of years for plastic.

By using eco-friendly cutlery, especially wooden plates, you can eliminate the risk of ingesting toxic chemicals. When you microwave plastic or Styrofoam, you run the risk of releasing and ingesting cancer-causing toxins. Many eco-friendly plates use all-natural adhesives and are chemical-free, which means you can microwave them without releasing chemicals. Also, unlike plastic, eco-friendly boards do not release chemicals or gases into the environment after disposal.

Many eco-friendly tableware options are easily compostable because they're made from all-natural materials. The compostable plates are rich in carbon and take only a few weeks to break down after being cut into small pieces.

Afterward, you'll have nutrient-rich humus that you can use in your lawn and garden. Not only does composting benefit the environment by capturing carbon, but it also keeps waste from being sent to landfills.

Biodegradable, eco-friendly plates are better for serving heavy, hot, greasy food. Plastic plates can absorb grease and cause them to become brittle, making quite a mess. Eco-friendly options like disposable wooden plates can even be used with steak knives and metal utensils, which are more than plastic or styrofoam.

Switching to eco-friendly cutlery has so many environmental benefits, you might think they're expensive. In fact, eco-friendly cutlery can be as affordable as plastic or paper plates, depending on your choice of cutlery.

Plastic and styrofoam disposable plates are widely used in homes and restaurants. They're cheap, durable, and always in short supply. Yet our environment is drowning in single-use plastic. Half of all plastic produced is designed to be used only once, and output at U.S. plastic production facilities is projected to increase by 50% over the next decade.

Plastic pollution is already affecting every ecosystem on the planet and accelerating climate change. Many people forget that plastic comes from oil, gas, and coal. The extraction and transport of these fossil fuels for plastic releases 13 million tons of carbon dioxide per year. Matt Kelso, manager of the FracTracker Alliance, said, "Those numbers do increase over time because you're talking about millions of miles of pipeline in the United States."

From the time plastic is produced to being dumped in a landfill somewhere, it emits greenhouse gases all the time. In factories that make plastic from ethylene, 213 million metric tons of carbon dioxide are released each year. This is equivalent to the emissions of 45 million cars. When plastic is exposed to the elements in landfills, methane and ethylene are released into the atmosphere, contributing to global warming. CO2 emissions from ethylene production will expand by 34% by 2030 if we do not control the productivity of plastic production and plastic waste.

Both plastic and styrofoam panels are made from polystyrene, a petroleum-based plastic. Plastic is non-degradable and technically recyclable, although less than 10% of all plastic waste generated is recycled. This leaves 90% of plastic waste to end up in landfills and oceans. Styrofoam is also non-degradable, but there are no recycling options. The only way to destroy it is to burn it at extremely high temperatures, which releases carbon monoxide. Styrofoam manufacturers were the fifth largest producers of toxic waste in the 1980s.

Plastic and Styrofoam can be a health hazard by releasing toxic chemicals into food when microwaved. BPA and phthalates, the chemicals that make plastic transparent, soft, and stretchy, leach into food when microwaved. They are known as "endocrine disruptors," meaning they negatively affect our hormonal balance.

Our planet has long been burdened with single-use plastics and styrofoam. The effects of pollution, overflowing landfills, toxic chemicals, and greenhouse gas emissions accelerate climate change and irreversibly alter our environment. The only way out is to slow down climate change by switching to eco-friendly products, especially eco-friendly tableware.

Disposable wooden plates are not only environmentally friendly but also sustainable. Sustainability means that everything from production to the product itself is sustainable, and renewable uses little energy and emits little pollution and greenhouse gases. When you choose disposable wood dishes, you're doing your part for the planet, saving money, and enjoying unique, stylish tableware. If you want to buy disposable wooden plates, please contact us.

Greenwood is a professional custom disposable wooden tableware manufacturer. We have been developing and producing biodegradable disposable wooden tableware for 20 years. The products cover 10 categories and 116 varieties of bamboo and wood disposable tableware. At the same time, Greenwood R&D Center is also constantly researching market demand and developing more wooden disposable tableware styles that are close to market demand.