You Can Even Eat the Plate

Students at elementary schools in Milan, Italy, have a novel alternative to clearing away the 13 million school lunch plates they use every year: Eat them. 

The city’s schools will try out Pappami, an edible plate made out of a dough similar to crackers (talk about biodegradable.) Pappami is strong enough to go the (lunchtime) distance, but then delectable enough to devour afterwards. (And yes, apparently the carb-tastic "dishes" can handle soup without becoming, well, soupy. They are also microwavable.)

The comestible China’s inventor is Tiziano Vicentini, a 50-year-old Trentino caterer who told The Austrian Times that he got tired of watching schools waste money on plastic plates and industrial-size dishwashers. "I used to work in school catering and watching all that money being thrown away was criminal," Vicentini told The Times. "These dishes cost a few pennies each and are either eaten by the kids or go into recycling bins for animal food." (To watch a video about the plates – it's in Italian! – click here.)

As they say in Italy, mangiare!

Photo courtesy Pappami.