There are many different types of disposable cutlery, and these are my favorite by far. Pressed from birch, they are light, cheap, biodegradable and much nicer to eat with than brittle polystyrene alternatives.

Birch (Betula species) is a relatively fast growing deciduous tree that can reach heights of around 30 m (100 ft). It grows across North America, Asia and Europe, and as such is relatively inexpensive. It is strong and durable, making it an ideal choice for this application (for many years it has been used in the production of toothpicks).

Birch is a light coloured timber and is almost tasteless, both qualities that are important for eating utensils. Alternatively, certain species of poplar (Populus species), commonly known as aspen, are used to make these types products.

These wooden products have clear 'eco' advantages over their plastic rivals: they are sourced from sustainable and renewable forests (in most cases), they are relatively small products and so can be formed from small pieces of material, which might be considered waste in other industries; and they are 100% biodegradable. However, this is still far from ideal. Even though biodegradable wooden cutlery is preferable to the many millions of plastic knives and forks landfilled each year, reusing cutlery is still the most sensible and sustainable option.

One industry's waste is another industry's raw material. These one tonne bales of scrap card are the by-product of cardboard box manufacturing. A single cardboard box production line may produce up to 4,000 boxes per hour. And while waste has been reduced to a minimum, offcuts are inevitable.

This may be waste material from one factory, but these bales of card are the raw material for another – paper pulp production. The card is shredded, pulped and moulded. At the end of its useful life the moulded pulp can be recycled once again, or composted (it's fully biodegradable).