fantastic anti-plastic dishes

Our toys are made with a biobased material that comes from Our dishes are made with a biobased material that comes from American-grown corn. Specifically, this bioplastic from Mirel™ is made with PHA, a polymer produced by microbial fermentation of sugar.

Do the dishes contain Bisphenol A (BPA) or phthalates?
No. Fantastic Anti-Plastic Dishes contain absolutely no BPA, phthalates, or PVC.

I’ve seen other corn-based dishes that need to be hand-washed. Are you sure Fantastic Anti-Plastic Dishes are dishwasher-safe?
Yes, our dishes are the first and only dishes made from corn that you can safely wash in the dishwasher. The bioplastic material we use is more heat-resistant than that of other corn-based dishes out there.

Are the dishes microwaveable?
Unfortunately, our dishes are not yet approved for microwaving. (We hope to get that approval in the near future.

Will the dishes last?

Fantastic Anti-Plastic Dishes are durable and designed to hold up just like ordinary plastic dishes. As we said above, that includes running them through the dishwasher as much as you’d like.

Is it possible to scratch the dishes?

Cutting with a sharp knife or pizza-cutter may scar the plate’s surface, just as it would with conventional plastic.

So why is your “Anti-Plastic” better than ordinary plastic?

Our material comes from corn grown here in the USA, a renewable resource.

Ordinary plastic comes from oil and natural gas, fossil fuels that are not renewable.

Our bioplastic is BPA-free and phthalates-free. Most ordinary plastic isn’t.

Our bioplastic fully biodegrades in 2 to 3 years when buried in soil, immersed in water, home composted, or composted in industrial facilities. Ordinary plastic takes about 500 years to degrade, and even then it only breaks down into smaller particles that are toxic to wildlife and the environment.

So, at the end of the day, our dishes are safer, more sustainable, and they represent one less thing sitting around on our planet for centuries to come. And yet our bioplastic looks and feels—and is virtually unbreakable—like ordinary plastic. So you get all the upside without any of the downside. .

Why not just make the dishes out of recycled or recyclable plastic?

While recycling is certainly better than not recycling, it’s not as black-and-white as it may seem. First, it uses up lots of energy and fuel—which means more non-renewable resources and expense. Second, the recycling plants produce lots of waste themselves, including toxic chemicals and polluting smoke. And finally, most plastic is actually downcycled—meaning it’s used to make products of lesser quality and reduced functionality. Those products, in turn, can’t be recycled, so they ultimately go to a landfill somewhere. Which means it’s still plastic, and it still winds up sitting on the planet, in one form or another—for hundreds, even thousands of years.

Do you use GMO corn to make the bioplastic?

Unfortunately GMO corn is all that’s currently available to create our biodegradable resin. (In fact, 86% of all corn in the U.S. is GMO corn.) But as technology evolves, we’re always looking for better alternatives. So stay tuned.

Can I recycle the toys with my recyclables?

No, biodegradable plastics cannot be recycled. As mentioned above, the proper way to dispose of them is ordinary composting. We’re all for recycling, but right now 15 billion pounds of conventional plastic are being produced in the U.S. every year, and unfortunately only one billion pounds are actually being recycled. That’s a frightening amount of plastic sitting around for hundreds of years.

What about other environmental costs, like transportation?

We try to reduce our footprint wherever possible. That’s why our toys are manufactured right here in the USA. Pennsylvania, to be exact. (And yes, China would be a lot cheaper.)