A University of British Columbia student was surprised at how many chopsticks are thrown out, so he decided to use them to build things.
Felix Böck, a doctoral student in the faculty of forestry, studies bamboo as a building material.
“When I first started collecting chopsticks for research, I didn’t realize how many are thrown out,” said Böck, who estimates at least 100,000 chopsticks are thrown out every day in Metro Vancouver. “It made sense to me to try and do something innovative with them.”
The entrepreneur decided to create ChopValue.
Böck has set up branded recycling bins at more than a dozen restaurants in Kitsilano. Servers discard any used bamboo chopsticks in the bins, which are picked up weekly.
Each bin holds roughly 30 pounds of chopsticks.
According to Böck, his company helps restaurants become more environmentally-friendly while cutting waste disposal costs. The City of Vancouver charges for waste disposal based on weight, so recycling chopsticks will help lower the waste cost.
Back at the UBC lab, the utensils are washed, coated in resin and then hot pressed down flat into square tiles. The finished creations are made from hundreds of chopsticks. The products range from cutting boards to plant holders.
The UBC student is now looking for a permanent manufacturing facility to help ChopValue go global.
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