Users urged to accept green utensils just cost more

Manufacturers hope customers would be more accepting of the increased cost of using water-based barrier coating on single-use utensils as most paper ones cannot last long after being soaked in water or soup.

This comes as many individuals complained about poor user experience of paper straws, spoons, and the like, after many restaurants switched to paper or wooden tableware.

A man named Lai said: "The paper straw became soft after I sucked it only a few times. It's completely a waste."

A student Poon said: "It felt like the paper straw was dissolving in the drink."

He said it was inconvenient to use paper or wooden utensils since food usually contains liquid.

Parry So, founder of Sun Cheong Hong Stationery and Paper, a local paper utensil manufacturer, said paper cutlery has design limitations.

"Paper utensils will become soft when immersed in water, though the time it takes to soften depends on the water temperature," So said, adding that paper utensils cannot withstand high temperatures either.

He suggested restaurants use bamboo or wooden cutlery for hot food, adding that cutting food like steak will be difficult when using paper knives. His company is now looking to add water coating on paper utensils.

Daniel Wong, founder of eco-friendly tableware supplier Eco Park, said adding water coating will increase the cost significantly.

"We used to adopt polyethylene lamination, a kind of plastic coating that is technically mature," he said, adding that such coating on nonplastic utensils already reduced plastic usage by 90 percent.

"Adopting water-based coating would triple the cost."

Although his company received twice as many orders in the past month, Wong was still uncertain whether he could ask for a lower price for raw supplies.

He hoped people will understand that they need to pay more for dining out and that costs would drop once eco-friendly utensils become popular.

ayra.wang@singtaonewscorp.com