Recycled Chopsticks Transformed Into Office and Home Items

Why should you recycle your chopsticks?

Because approximately 1.5 billion disposable chopsticks are used worldwide, per week. And most travel thousands of kilometers for a single use and then straight to the landfill.

One Canadian company, ChopValue, is working to change this by turning recycled chopsticks into furniture, office desks and other useful household items. These direct-to-consumer products range from cheeseboards (made from about 300 chopsticks), to shelves (about 1,500 to 2,000), to cabinets (about 2,500).

Recently, ChopValue reached a milestone by diverting its hundred-millionth discarded chopstick that would have otherwise been landfill-bound. The used chopsticks can be made from bamboo are wood and are collected from partner locations in dedicated recycling bins. Learn more about how and how ChopValue uses a circular manufacturing process to turn chopsticks into beautiful household goods using an innovative “microfactory” concept and a process they call “Urban Harvesting”.

How businesses can join the ChopValue Recycling Program
With locations all over Canada and offices in Boston and Las Vegas, their collection partners include restaurant chains, schools and universities, corporate offices and airports. Join their recycling program to help divert these one-time use utensils from reaching our landfills.  Become a recycling partner! Learn more at ChopValue.

Shop Recycled Chopstick Business and Home Products
Consumers can purchase these beautiful circular economy products made from urban harvested materials directly from ChopValue.  Shop the Home Collection.

Business Solutions: For offices big and small, restaurants, cafes, boardrooms, corner offices, cafeterias, and even custom homes, the flexibility of their Built-To-Order program creates unique products using a sustainable manufacturing process. Learn More

Eco-Cycle Guides & Resources

Eco-Cycle launched recycling in Colorado in 1976, and today is one of the nation’s oldest and largest nonprofit recyclers and a leader of the Zero Waste movement.

Eco-cycle offers a variety of downloads, videos, guides and research to help you reduce, reuse, recycle, and more. Their most popular resources will you learn about, implement, and advocate for Zero Waste policies and practices. Explore their educational resources, reports, guides and more to help you attain your recycling, composting, and Zero Waste goals in the Eco-cycle Resource Library

Zero Waste Tools

Eco-Cycle builds Zero Waste communities that promote circular economies. Learn more about their work to advance Zero Waste policies, programs, and infrastructure!

Whether you’re new to Zero Waste or a seasoned practitioner, we have the info you need to live more sustainably. Learn the best tips for reducing waste in the first place, easy life hacks for reusing, and even how to rid your mailbox of junk-mail waste you don’t want and never asked for. For those in the Boulder County area, we have guides, games, and apps to keep you in the know on the many local resources we have available to recycle, reuse, and compost.

Zero Waste resources produced by Eco-Cycle staff are free to download and distribute. From printable guidelines to their one-of-a-kind recycling app, you don’t want to miss these Zero Waste tools.

Green America Green Living Guide

Green Living

How to make the most sustainable living decisions for your home, family, and community. Hear stories from people who have turned their green living ideas into action! Find Green Products & Services

Search the National Green Pages below to find the healthy, ethical, green products and services you need from socially responsible businesses. The businesses featured here have earned Green America’s Green Business Certification, so you can be assured they are dedicated to building an economy that works for people and the planet.

Find certified socially responsible and sustainable businesses.  Shop green products and services in the Green Pages

 

Sustainable Marketplace: Greener Products and Services

Greener purchasing can catalyze a more sustainable marketplace for all – reducing climate impacts, improving the health of communities, preventing pollution, and increasing climate resiliency.

Learn more about how to identify and purchase more sustainable products.

 

Sustainable Marketplace: Greener Products and Services | US EPA

Pocket Guides

It’s hard to remember to be a conscious consumer each time you go to the store, restaurant or mall. Here are some reference tools to help you make mindful choices when making purchases.