Saturday, March 12, 2022

From Chopsticks to Furniture

I read an interesting article on Atlas Obscura about a startup company called ChopValue in Vancouver Canada that is changing disposable chopsticks into furniture.  What a great idea!  


Chopsticks have been used for more than 5,000 years and currently about a third of the world population use them daily. Each year about 80 Billion pairs go to landfills.  What a waste! 


Felix Böck, founder of the Vancouver-base start up ChopValue says that in Vancouver alone, 100,000 chopsticks a day are being thrown away. Since 2016, Böck has been on a mission to do something about the disposable chopstick problem.  Instead of trying to eliminate tham, he is trying to give them new life. ChopValue staff pick up about 350,000 used chopsticks from over 300 restaurants in Vancouver a week, and they become book shelves, cutting boards, coasters, desks, and custom decorations.





First the used chopsticks are coated in water based resin, then sterilized at 200 degrees F for five hours.  Then a hudraulic machine breaks the wood down into composit board, which is sanded, polished, and lacquered as necessary. This is the core piece for everything from desks to table tops.




If you would like more information about this company, check our the website.


I can't help wondering how many chopsticks are thrown away every day in Japan.  Wouldn't it be great if they could be recycled into something useful? 

4 comments:

Jeanie said...

That's a wonderful idea! Who would have ever imagined?!

Queeniepatch said...

Absolutely. many things in old traditional Japan had at least two usages. Think of the kaidantansu, storage space in the form of drawer underneath stairs. We also have the furoshiki, the square piece of decorative cloth that can be used for wrapping a lunchbox as well as a luncheon mat or a bib or a serviette, as well as a tea towel, as well as a shopping bag as well as, well almost anything. Now what can chopsticks be used for? Put them in a flower pot to support a weak stem, tie or glue them tougher into a flat board and you can put a hot hot on it, burn them in the open fire, or as the article said turn them into furniture.
Maybe the best solution would be for everyone to carry their own chopsticks and use over and over again. After all, how many of us have disposable pencils that we use only once?

Carol- Beads and Birds said...

What a cool idea. I like Queeniepatch's idea about carrying your own chop sticks with you.
xx, Carol

Leonore Winterer said...

That is so cool! I have a couple pairs of reusable chopsticks at home, but they are getting very worn.