A research team at Naresuan University has developed water-tight, degradable food bowls from leaves in an effort to combat waste and bring sustainable products to market.
The project took researchers over a year to perfect and now can be used as a substitute for plastic. From a system of trial and error, they discovered that the leaves of the thong kwao (bastard teak), sak (teak) and sai (banyan) trees made for the best bowls.
They can hold hot water and will degrade rapidly after disposal.
The inspiration came from a visit to a temple in the north, where Samorn Hiranpraditsakul, a lecturer in industrial engineering, saw mounds of plastic waste. She was struck by the sight and has now thrown her weight behind the degradable, plant-based bowls. The faculty is now at work promoting the new, environmentally friendly bowls, aiming to bring them fully to the local government during the food festivals of Sonkran and the New Year (Via Minds).
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