Plantable cutlery brings sustainable push to the table

STORY: This spoon can be planted and could one day blossom into an herb or vegetable.

That’s because it’s not made from plastic - but wheat straw and has seeds nestled inside.

Its creator says the concept is a way to combat single-use plastics and promote a sustainable habit.

Dubai-based BloomSpoon is behind the plantable cutlery.

KHATTAB: "And then within 10 to 20 days, you will be having sprouts."

Mostafa Khattab is the startup's founder and managing director.

"Our main consumers are the, like, restaurants and cafes for the delivery services and the takeaways. Instead of just giving them, normal plastic cutlery, that will just end up in a landfill, or maybe like a normal, sustainable alternative. But we would like also to promote a sustainable habit or an eco-friendly behaviour like planting. So I want them to be engaged or make it more interactive."

The cutlery is reusable for up to five years, Khattab says.

When it comes time to plant, either the entire utensil can be tossed in soil or just the grains in the tip.

It's a concept that aligns with the ethos of Lowe restaurant in Dubai, says manager Zachary Roy.

"...And it's not necessarily just recycling, it's about reusing everything and making sure that little things that lead to food waste, whether it be the actual food wastes or the items that we use - we just better ourselves and better it along the way as we go." /// "We've got mandarins, we've got aubergine, we've got chillies. And now I'm going to be happy to put BloomSpoon in and get some basil, some more mint, some chillies, some chives. I think it's fantastic."