Product Review: Palm Leaf Plates from Marx Foods

With help from the Foodie Blogroll, I got my hands on some palm leaf plates from Marx Foods. Marketed as disposable, biodegradable, compostable and sturdy they look like an eco-friendly option to paper or plastic plates.

We decided to use a few of them as serving plates for a dinner party and they went over well with our guests. The square and rectangular plates certainly looked nicer than plastic plates and that was three less plates to wash that evening. I should mention now that Marx Foods offers these plates in a variety of shapes.

By the end of the evening, the plate with the red bean hummus (back-left in the above photo) was starting to look worse for the wear and had absorbed some moisture from the dip -- but it didn't break or leak. I should mention that Marx Foods also offers a soup bowl made of the same material.

Since we wanted to finish this review before the leaves started falling off the trees, we didn't toss any of the plates in our compost heap for a time-study to see how long it takes for the plates to compost. instead, we opted to chuck them in the green bin.

Overall, these plates are a great alternative for larger casual dinner parties or barbecues where you'd rather not use washable plates, and for casual outdoor corporate functions where you're looking to make an impression. They're not as inexpensive as cheap looking plastic or foam plates, but you get what you pay for. A package of 100 plates will run you under $80USD including shipping.

A big thank you from the Haggis and the Herring to Marx Foods for sending us the samples!

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