Verterra: The Dinnerware that Makes You Feel Good To Entertain

by Green Talk on January 27, 2009

Classic Verterra bowls and plates. Check out Verterra giveaway!

I love to entertain and believe in the motto, the more people, the better.However, my love of entertaining has always clashed with my environmental side since I had to use paper plates. Who has service for over 20?

What about biodegradable plates, you might ask? Unfortunately, there is no commercial composter near me where I can dispose of them. My backyard composter is just too small. So, what is a party girl supposed to do?

Verterra to the rescue!These stylish plates and bowls are not only reusable, eco-friendly, but they make a handsome table top statement as well. The dishes are made of 100% renewal and compostable fallen leaves and water, and best of all, do not contain any chemicals, waxes, dyes or harmful toxins.

How do these plates hold it together?The Company simply applies steam, heat and pressure to the fallen leaves to create this disposable dinnerware, which will naturally biodegrade in two months. According to the Company, you can throw them right into the composter. Don’t have a composter? No worries. They will decompose in a landfill.

That’s not all, folks. Verterra tableware are fair trade products as well. All products are made in South Asia where their employees receive a fair wage, work in safe conditions and have access to health care.

How did Verterra come to be? The Company is the brainchild of environmentalist, 30’s ish Michael Dwork. While doing an internship in India, he encountered a woman pressing water soaked leaves into a make shift waffle iron. She thereupon pulled out the plate and used it to serve food she was selling. It was an epiphany for Dwork and he spent the rest of his summer and his business school years at Columbia University MBA program refining Verterra’s dinnerware.

How many of you are germ-phobic? It is okay to admit it. We are all friends here. I know some of you are wondering if these plates are sterile. When the leaves are brought to the Company’s owned factory, they are sprayed with high pressure water, steamed, and then UV sterilized. Go ahead and use the plates right away. No need to wash them before use.

Ones to the left were washed. The ones to the right were never washed.

The plates are intended for single use, but I have used my plates several times. I clean them with soap and water. The plates end up looking a little wobbly, but I put a couple of apples on them to serve as paper weights to flatten them again.

Oven, microwaves and freezers do not scare these dishes. According to the Company, it is safe to put the plates in the microwave for two minutes or in the oven at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. You can even store food on them in the fridge or freezer. Talk about hard working dishes!

Think these plates are too good to be true? They are, except one problem. They stain. Other reviews I read said that the plates stained for tomato sauce or ketchup. Mine did not when I put ketchup and tomato sauce on them. Perhaps, I am too obsessive and wash my dishes too quickly after we are done eating. However, pizza oil stained them. (See picture above.) Beets will also stain the plates.

Verterra hexagon plates

The Company offers their classic line of 6” hexagon bowl ($7.99/8 pack or $43/for 100), 6 by 9” plate (8.99/8 and $43/100) 7” round bowl ($8.99/12) and 9” square plates ($9.99/8 and $50/100.)

In addition, the new Signature line, which can be pre-ordered for delivery in March, 2009, is a sleeker adaptation of the classic line. The plates and bowls come in various sizes ranging form 4 by 4 to 12 by 12 for holiday belt loosening eating. The bowls come in either 6 by 8 or 8 by 8 sizes. Dwork is obviously a party animal himself, since he has left no rock unturned on this alternatives tableware. Verterra also sells platter ranging in size from 7 by 8.5 to 14 by 16, which you can easily fit a roast on. The Signature Line‘s prices vary, and some of the lines can be bought in bulk quantities up to 300 dishes.

Future plans for the Company? A newer seamless e-commerce site and undisclosed distributors will be selling the plates. The web site will have a store locator for your nearest distributor.

Super Bowl and Valentine’s is right around the corner. Even the NBA All Star Weekend VIP party and NFL Super Bowl VIP party chose Verterra’s dinnerware for their parties. How about you?

Even Martha Stewart would love these stylish plates! Compostable, nontoxic, stylish, and Fair Trade. What is not to love?

In fact, Verterra has been kind enough to offer the following tableware to one lucky Green Talk reader:

(4x) 6″ Square
(4x) 10″ Square
(4x) Bowl
(2x) 7″ Tray

In order to enter the giveaway contest, you must live in the US or Canada, and be 18 or older and follow the rules below:

• Leave me a comment here as to your favorite party food or dish (green or otherwise). If you don’t have one, just say so.

• To double your chances of winning the dishes, consider joining my Ning Forum. Come back and leave a comment that you joined my forum.

• To triple your chances consider joining my Feedburner email list or subscribe to my RSS feed. Both subscriptions are listed on the upper left hand column. Be sure to come back and leave a comment to tell me which one you joined.

• To quadruple your chances of winning, twitter about this contest and come back and leave the url (weblink) of your twitter comment.

• You must enter by February 9, 2009, 6 PM EST time to win.

• A winner will be chosen at random on Tuesday, February 10, 2009. Good Luck everyone!

Similar Posts:

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Tagged as: biodegradeable plates, compostable plates, eco friendly products and magazine, Fair Trade products, Verterra

{ 3 trackbacks }

Woot! What’s Buzzing Now? » Blog Archive » Stir Crazy « Far Out on the Farm: January 31, 2009 at 7:28 pm
Planning Your Next Party | Graduation Shoppe: February 5, 2009 at 9:21 pm
Experimenting with Eating Sunflower Leaves | Green Talk™: October 7, 2009 at 10:11 pm

{ 283 comments… read them below or add one }

← Previous Comments

1 kathleen February 9, 2009 at 2:19 pm: I love dips of all kinds, like hummus, tapanade, black bean dip, with crackers or pita. Yum!

These plates would be nice for my son’s upcoming 1st Birthday.

kathleens last blog post..Weekend Contest Love
2 Ingrid February 9, 2009 at 2:45 pm: These dishes are absolutely beautiful. Sure would look nice on my table at my next gathering. My favorite party food would be Hot Wings that I make.
3 kathy pease February 9, 2009 at 2:49 pm: my favorite party dish is veggies and dip
4 Betty C February 9, 2009 at 2:59 pm: My favorite party dish is the oriental meat balls I make with ground pork instead of beef.
5 Betty C February 9, 2009 at 3:01 pm: I subscribed to your RSS feed.
6 Reeva February 9, 2009 at 3:12 pm: i like vietnamese spring rolls
7 Reeva February 9, 2009 at 3:12 pm: i subscribe
8 Reeva February 9, 2009 at 3:13 pm: joined ning forum..thanks!
9 MELINDA Smith February 9, 2009 at 4:09 pm: my is favorite is spiniche dip inside round sour dough bread,and the bread pieces for dipping into it.You are left with no dishes to clean,too.
10 Marianna February 9, 2009 at 4:39 pm: In the winter months I love to make chili for parties. Love the Simply Organic chili seasoning – yum!

Mariannas last blog post..My First Award: The Love Ya Award!
11 Jennifer Schroeder February 9, 2009 at 5:14 pm: I can’t think of a party food that I don’t like! Deviled eggs have been my favorite since I was a kid.
12 Catherine KingChuparkoff February 9, 2009 at 5:23 pm: Plain old chips and a delicious salsa is a favorite of ours.
13 Charlene Kuser February 9, 2009 at 5:24 pm: My favorite party food is a crabmeat dip I make
14 Charlene Kuser February 9, 2009 at 5:27 pm: I am a member of Ning Forum
15 Charlene Kuser February 9, 2009 at 5:27 pm: I am a subscriber
16 Heather C February 9, 2009 at 5:49 pm: Mmmmmm, Seven Layer Dip with chips. Can’t beat it!
17 Alexis February 9, 2009 at 5:56 pm: Thank you for the opportunity

Alexiss last blog post..Make Something Monday … Spicy Nacho Bake
18 Marcy Strahan February 9, 2009 at 6:27 pm: Our favortie party food is Boiled Crawfish with corn,potatos & Jalopeno’s.
19 Lily Kwan February 9, 2009 at 6:50 pm: I love deviled eggs!
20 Lily Kwan February 9, 2009 at 6:52 pm: I joined your Ning forum.
21 Lily Kwan February 9, 2009 at 6:53 pm: I joined your email list.
22 Tony Slawson February 9, 2009 at 7:04 pm: My fav dish for a party:
My homemade guac of course.
You need dice the following and just mix them together in any order or all at once.
6-8 ripe avo
4 huge tablespoons sour cream
2 pinch of reg salt, garlic salt, blk peper, chili pepper, chili powder, cummin
1 large lemon- cut and squeeze out juice but not seed
2-4 large crisp red toms
1 big teaspoon of mild/hot salsa
After all mixed reaaly well, place in choice of serving dish and top with a bit of sour cream, a sprinkle of garlic salt and blk pepper, and a little spread/sprikle of shredded sharp cheddar cheese.
This guac rulz!
MY RECIPE TOO!!LOL
23 Nanette Olson February 9, 2009 at 7:29 pm: I like a meatless lasagna with lots of cheest.
24 Samuel Ruiz February 9, 2009 at 8:23 pm: My favorite party food is empanadas
25 Melanie D February 9, 2009 at 8:33 pm: Spinach and Artichoke dip.
mmmm…
26 Samantha Pruitt February 9, 2009 at 8:48 pm: i like deviled eggs, so good!
27 Justine February 9, 2009 at 8:50 pm: My fave party food is always Tortilla chips and Dip(sour cream, cheese, beans, guacamole & tomatoes)
28 Green Talk February 17, 2009 at 9:15 pm: Congradulations to Keith for winning the contest. I loved, loved your responses. So many of you choose a dip or pizza. Tony Slawson even gave us a complete recipe!

I wish I could offer the plates to all of you. Keep checking back. I have some fun dog giveaways coming down the pike, LED light, and filters made out of recycled materials. Anna
29 Penny April 22, 2009 at 12:27 pm: I joined your email list. Thanks for sharing this.
30 Green Talk April 22, 2009 at 10:14 pm: Penny, welcome aboard! I have lot of great green giveaways and the other part of the site…you know the tip part…well, it isn’t too shabby either. (LOL) But the best feature of Green Talk is its readers and contributors, so don’t hesitate to add your 2 cents in to the article. Every comment is welcomed. Anna
31 RVHG July 22, 2009 at 3:46 pm: The article is written as though Michael Dwork or Verterra invented the idea of making plates from leaves, and as though the poor Indian woman was just the helpless apple that fell onto young Newton’s mind. Leaf plates are very common in all parts of India, and have been for centuries. Just go to a Hindu temple in South India, and see what they serve the holy offerings (or prasad) in? It will be a plate or cup made of dried leaves.

If mass producing such wares is Mr. Dwork’s claim to fame, even there he is not the first. Many Indian companies have been producing such wares for a longer time than Mr. Dwork ever visited India. Just google for “Areca Leaf Plates” and you will know how many Indian companies have been producing what Mr. Dwork apparently spent his entire MBA program “inventing”.

If you are interested in getting the same products for a fraction of the cost, just direct order from those companies.
32 Green Talk July 22, 2009 at 10:22 pm: RVHG, Michael states that he saw a woman making the plate which inspired him to create a company around the idea. No one said he invented the plate idea.

Thanks for the tip of other companies making the same product. Any suggestions? Anna
33 Blue Willow China January 18, 2010 at 7:09 pm: WOW! I never knew such a thing existed! I am still trying to imagine how they can be in an oven for so long and not burst into flames! Guess I am just going to have to try them out!
Blue Willow China´s last undefined ..If you register your site for free at