Edish, the Japanese upcycled dish that circulates back to earth

Whenever we take a meal, in most cases, we use tableware to serve food. When we eat out, restaurants serve meal on a dish, which are washed and then used repeatedly for the next consumer. If we takeout food from a restaurant, most likely, the food will be packed in a single-use container. So, we are familiar with either disposing tableware or reusing it after use. What if these dishes or containers magically turned into feed or soil nutrition after use? Even more, if they were made of food scraps that are typically disposed as waste, could they help to lessen the negative impact we have on the environment?

A new upcycled product ‘edish’ is made from food scraps like food rinds, cores or used tea leaves. These scraps are often thrown away without being utilized effectively. Edish is an innovative idea to mold these scraps into dishes and recycle them again into food for animals or soil nutrition after use. Farm produce that are cultivated using recycled edish will eventually be used to make a new edish, meaning the products will continually circulate within the procedure.

Needless to say, this product is eco-friendly. Upcycling food waste will not only reduce garbage but will also reduce CO2 emission. Generally, when food waste is recycled, they are used to make fertilizers (it can also be done at home by using a compost box). Edish are too, but it adds one more exceptional step, manufacturing dishes, to this circulation. And unlike a typical food container that are made of plastic or paper, edish doesn’t harm the environment by consuming natural resources or generating waste that cannot be decomposed. Therefore, edish could lessen the negative impact on the environment by reducing the following three factors: waste generation, CO2 emission and natural resource consumption.

Why this product is called ‘edish’ is not only because the product is ecological, but because the manufacturer also hopes to make it an ethical and economical product. Using ecological tableware will improve the business’s brand awareness since it is appealing to the customers and the society. At the same time, the dishes will be made from materials that are less expensive to produce compared to paper or plastic. Additionally, because edish is a single-use tableware, they are hygienic (which is a strong advantage particularly during the coronavirus pandemic).

Marubeni Corporation of Japan, the manufacturer of edish, begins a demonstration experiment this month. The company will provide this eco-friendly tableware to restaurants to gather feedback from business owners and consumers. The first experiment will take place at CRYSTAL CAFE in Kasai Rinkai Park and the park’s barbeque square from August 11 to October 31. Three types of dishes will be available for the demonstration: a bowl, flat dish and deep dish. All of them will be made of wheat bran for this trial. The dishes used will be collected and crushed to make soil nutrition, planned to be used in the park. After finishing the meal, customers will cover their dish with a lid, crush it with their own hands and place them in the recycling box. It is a unique idea to foster a sense of participation.

Eventually, Marubeni hopes to commercialize edish by making improvements through user feedback. When edish is sent out to the world successfully, it should become an innovative product that will play a role in realizing a circular society.