Banana leaves are used as dinner plates in parts of India. No washing up afterwards!
I've never seen a round leaf used but I'm certain all sorts of local plants are used? Maybe an EE?
Mike

I found a bit of info after googling "leaf disposable plates". I think the leaves you are thinking of are sal (Shorea robusta) leaves. There is also a mention of the Manilla Palm being used to make the plates in Trinidad.

I would imagine that you need very large sturdy leaves, a press, and molds to make them. If you are making them of more leaves, you may need a binder. Off the top of my head, flour water paste may be possible, or starch. Or something like "natto" (cooked soybeans fermented in bundles of rice straw- makes a sticky, stinky, stringy, delicious mess, but would be terrific glue.)

A possible start would be:
two identical metal plates to be used for the die
a big leaf or series of leaves for the plate itself
a nontoxic glue/binder
A big rock to weigh the press.

(note- this is pure conjecture- I have not tried any of this)
1. Heat the plates to be used as the die- they should be hot enough to sterilize the leaves when you press them. Also, the heat should help to cook the leaf a bit.
2. Brush the leaves to be used with a weak glue solution, like cornstarch and water. You may consider boiling leaves in a cornstarch and water solution, which would have the benefit of sterilizing and cooking them.
3. cover the bottom plate with the leaf/leaves, cover with the top plate, and add pressure- more is better I think. You want to drive out moisture and iron the plate into shape. You can take a sharp knife and cut off any ragged edges sticking out of the die.
4. Take them from the press and dry them in the sun or in a solar food dehydrator.

It might work. It sure sounded good as I was thinking it out. I might have to try this myself now!

Eric in Japan.

And make sure the leaves are non-toxic!

Sue

Thanks very very much. i should try and think myself and hopefully iwould figure how to do it.

All the best
Carralluma

Does anyone know where in the US I can buy these disposable palm leaf plates? I live near Berkeley CA but would happily get them online or mail order.
thank you

Anita,
I once put on a sustainability fair in Reno and had a vendor who made all raw foods. She served them on gorgeous leaf plates and was kind enough to sell me some. You could probably at least get the name of her supplier. Here is her contact information. The company is Lydia's Organics.

To email us:
info@lydiasorganics.com

To call us up and talk to us live:
phone: (415)258-9678

Just for the record: If you start having leaf plates shipped to you from all over the world, you're hardly doing the planet a big favor. Either grow your own or forget it.

stoneunhenged beat me to my comment...

I think this is a lovely idea, but they are right, buying them from far off is not good for the environement..

Burdock, which is one annoying weed, is also a very GOOD herb. It is used in the four herb tea as a cancer remedy (also in the Essiac brand). I am pretty sure it is the main ingrediant.

Anyways, its leaves are huge. One of these days I will just have to try it out as a "paper plant plate." Younger plants int their first year arent quite as prickly as those in their second year.

eventually you will be doing more processing to the leaf tree products than we do to the wood pulp tree product that normal disposable plates are made from. It may seem like we are loosing the forests to paper but these days we do tree plantations.

Also Essiac tea hasn't been shown to decrease tumors or slow growth any more than placebo.