Factsheet

Fact sheet Landfill crisis

Product Features	Areca Leaf Plates	Bagasse Plate	Bamboo Plate	Paper Plate	Bio plastic plate	Plastics Plate
Type of enterprise	Social enterprise with women	Commercial	Commercial	Commercial	Commercial	Commercial
Material	Fallen leaves of the Areca palm tree	Fibrous residue of sugarcane	Bamboo	Timber	Synthesized from corn or potato starch	Petroleum (Plastic)
Heat-resistance	Withstands hot and cold food items	Limited heat resistance and cold food	Limited heat resistance	Limited heat resistance	Limited heat resistance	Limited heat resistance, melts or warps with hot food
Leak-proof	Naturally leak-proof and sturdy	Can leak beyond a limit	Holds food	Can leak with liquids or wet food	Can leak beyond a limit	Leak Proof but doesn’t hold heat and pierces easily
Aesthetics	Natural and unique as each leaf is unique	Neutral, white-beige, similar to paper.	Moderate style	Monotonous style	Un attractive Plain	Unattractive plain looking

Environment Impact	Areca Leaf Plates	Bagasse Plate	Bamboo Plate	Paper Plate	Bio plastic plate	Plastics Plate
Biodegradability	100% biodegradable and compostable within 3 months	3 months	6 months	6 months	6 months	100-500 years to decompose. Cause of landfills and microplastic pollution.
Compostability	Domestically compostable	Industrially compostable	Partially Industrially compostable	Partial	NO	NO
Sustainability	Renewable resource, fallen leaves	Renewable resource, fibrous residue left over after sugarcane	Deforestation and other depletion of natural resources	Deforestation and other depletion of natural resources	Critical (Intensive farming, intensive usage of agricultural area)	Production of plastic contributes to severe resource depletion
Renewable Resource	Yes	Yes	No. Needs regrowth of trees	No. Needs regrowth of trees	No	No
Energy Consumption	32 kWh	60 kWh	50 kWh	70kWh	100 kWh	120kWh
Chemical Use	No chemicals	Yes, Hydrogen peroxide, sodium hydroxide for processing	Yes, Alkaline solutions, potentially melamine- formaldehyde resin	Yes, Chlorine/hydrogen peroxide (bleaching), sizing agents, wet strength additives	Yes, Catalysts, polymers, plasticizers (e.g., citrates) stabilizers	Yes, Petrochemical polymers, plasticizers (e.g.,phthalates),stabilizer colorants
Landfill Impact	Zero	Low	Low	Low to Moderate	Moderate	High
Water Consumption	< 1 L	70 L	25L	150L	75L	180L
Carbon Footprint	22.7 g/Plate	164 g/Plate	125g/Plate	150g/Plate	150g/Plate	250 g/Plate