Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
EcoTensil is based in Northern California and has distribution warehouses in both the US (Missouri) and the EU (Netherlands).
Our California HQ hours of operation are from 8:30am–5:00pm. Questions can be answered by contacting our team here.
Shopping cart orders can be processed online to the US (and territories), and within the EU, UK, and Middle East.
So how does a paper spoon work?
Q: Do EcoTensil® products have any taste or texture? Can they stand up to hot products?
Think of your experience with a paper coffee cup. It has no taste, it has a smooth, pleasing texture, it is sturdy for its purpose, it can contain hot or cold liquid, and it is sanitarily made and packaged.
EcoTensil products provide all these same attributes but are plastic-free!
Q: What kinds of foods can be eaten with EcoTensil products?
Just about anything you can eat with a spoon and many things that you would eat with a fork—any food that is bite-sized, scoopable, or easy to cut.
GreenDot™ utensils: Most foods, and more than you can eat with a tiny plastic taster—such as chunky deli salad or soup! When folded, these sturdy tasters are strong enough to cut through even cheesecake.
AquaDot™ utensils:
Hold up beautifully for full servings:
- perfect for frozen yogurt to hot chili
- strong enough to cut through foods like cheesecake or soft cheese
- scoops chunky bite-sized foods like fruit salad
- perfect for grain and legume deli salads
- even works beautifully for thicker soups
Q: Can I eat soup?
Yes, both the GreenDot EcoTaster® (sampling spoon) and AquaDot EcoTensil® (for full servings) are perfect for thicker soups and stews. Our deeper “bowl” allows for bigger bites and less soup spillage, and some products includes a drip-stop fold.
Q: What about a fork or a knife?
For many on-the-go or takeout meals, all that’s needed is an EcoTensil and paper napkin (all paper wrapped in paper if you want to have zero plastic). If you are serving a filet of chicken that needs cutting, then you will likely need a plastic or wood fork, knife, and napkin, and also a spoon in many cases.
An EcoTensil or even EcoTaster can be used to easily spread butter, nut butter, hummus, etc. It can scoop any scoopable dish from pasta salad to fruit salad, eggs to oats, mac and cheese to casseroles, rice to potatoes, and it can even be used to slice through easy-to-cut foods like cheesecake, coffee cake, omelet, jello, even watermelon. And of course it works great as a spoon for spoonable foods such as yogurt, parfaits, chili or thick soups. It even makes a perfect stirrer.
Why not use the most eco-efficient, lightweight utensils when you can, even if it is not for every occasion?
Q: Can I get a cut from EcoTensil paper utensils?
Because the paperboard is thick compared to a sheet of paper, EcoTensil products are too thick to easily cut skin. We have not seen evidence of this happening after selling over 100 million utensils.
Q: Can I easily put an EcoTensil product on my package to make it 100% self-contained for grab-and-go usage?
Yes! Wrapped or unwrapped EcoTensil, TabLock™, iScoop™, and other products are designed specifically to be part of single-serve, grab-and-go packaging! Click here to see more.
How sustainable is EcoTensil cutlery?
Q: What are EcoTensil products made of?
All our lines are made from certified sustainable paperboard. Our AquaDot product range is made from paperboard that is PEFC® certified‡ from sustainably managed forests and independently certified as plastic-free by Din Certco. It is compliant with the new EU Single-Use Plastics Directive for cutlery. The GreenDot paperboard is made from FSC®-certified† paperboard and also produced from sustainably managed forests.
Q: Which utensils are compostable?
The GreenDot EcoTasters and our AquaDot EcoTensils have been accepted by the Compost Manufacturing Alliance (including Cedar Grove) for compostability. The AquaDot material is additionally certified both home and industrially compostable in accordance with EN 13432 and NF T51-800.
Q: Can I put your compostable products into my backyard compost?
Yes, in our own “home compost” tests conducted in Northern California, GreenDot EcoTasters broke down completely in 3–4 weeks, so they should easily compost in an industrial composting facility that requires 180 days or more. Happily, the number of compost facilities continues to increase, so items like food scraps, kitchen waste, and EcoTasters can be regenerated in a closed loop lifecycle.
Q: Are your compostable products marine degradable?
Yes, in our own sea and fresh-water tests, EcoTasters broke down in less than three weeks. Of course, EcoTensils are not intended to be disposed of anywhere but the proper waste stream.
Q: If I cannot compost, where should I dispose of EcoTasters?
If there’s no compost available, EcoTensil products should be disposed of in the trash (landfill). EcoTensil products are still the greenest utensil because they use 50–85% less material than plastic, bio-plastic, or wood spoons! If there is no food on EcoTasters, they may be placed in the recycle bin*.
Q: Some of your products are compostable. Is that the same as biodegradable?
The primary difference between compostable and biodegradable is that compostable products require certification that they can break down into usable compost in 90 to 180 days, whereas biodegradable products do not break down in that time, and, in fact, there is no specified time limit for a biodegradable product. A "biodegradable" bio-plastic fork would likely be found completely intact in a landfill 200 years from now.
Q: What if EcoTensils do end up in landfill?
EcoTensil products use much less material than other plastic, bio-plastic, and wooden spoons, sporks or forks, so using EcoTensil paperboard cutlery benefits the planet even if it ends up in landfill.
Q: Are EcoTensil products sourced from sustainably-managed forests?
GreenDot paperboard is made from FSC®-certified† paperboard produced from sustainably-managed forests.
AquaDot paperboard is PEFC® certified‡ from sustainably managed forests (Europe) Article 33 ECHA + Directive 2008/98/EC (SVHC).
Q: Are your utensils recyclable?
Optimally, our GreenDot compostable sampling spoons should be placed in compost (commercial or home). If they are clean they can be recycled*, but they should not go into the recycling if they are contaminated with food. Check with your local recycling facility.
Our GreenDot and AquaDot products are certified as recyclable according to EN 13430.
The BlueDot™ line of utensils is not recyclable as they have a very thin poly coating. (They can be recycled only in facilities that accept coffee cups.) We are phasing out the BlueDot range in the EU as it is no longer SUPD-compliant under the June 2021 specifications.
We do hope that one day soon, these products can be diverted from landfill as recycling processes evolve.