Every year, humans waste billions of pieces of plastic flatware, which clog landfills and hurt the environment. So Indian startup Bakeys invented a line of forks, spoons and chopsticks that can double as dessert. The cutlery, made from hearty sorghum flour, is baked until nearly all its moisture is gone, meaning it’s strong enough to handle hot soup. And it comes in three flavors: savory (like a cracker), sweet (like an ice cream cone) and plain (like a wafer), all of which have sold well in India. Now Bakeys is focused on new markets; it recently raised more than $278,000 on Kickstarter for a global expansion.
For more on these ideas, visit time.com/ideas
–Julie Shapiro
This appears in the May 23, 2016 issue of TIME.
More Must-Read Stories From TIME
- Here’s How Effective the Original Vaccines Are Against Omicron
- The Promise—And Possible Perils—of Editing What We Say Online
- How Trump Survived Decades of Legal Trouble: Deny, Deflect, Delay, and Don't Put Anything in Writing
- Flint Is Still Shaken by its Water Crisis—and Residents Are Experiencing Long-Term Mental-Health Issues
- A Beer Shortage Is Brewing. A Volcano Is Partly to Blame
- How Fasting Can—and Can't—Improve Gut Health
- Cities Keep Enforcing Curfews for Teens, Despite Evidence They Don't Stop Crime
- Joe Manchin’s Red Tape Reform Could Supercharge Renewable Energy in the U.S.
- Column: We Should Talk More About What a Brilliant Actor Marilyn Monroe Was
