ChopValue Turns Single-use Chopsticks into Furniture and Decor

Vancouver-based company ChopValue has recently diverted its hundred-millionth discarded chopstick from ending up in a landfill. Operating in 12 cities around the world, the company collects the chopsticks (mostly made of bamboo) from partners including restaurants, schools, and corporate offices. It sanitizes and sorts them, and applies a water-based resin; then, the chopsticks are dried in ovens and pressed at high temperatures in a hydraulic press. At this point, the one-time chopsticks are ready to be repurposed.

ChopValue started by creating direct-to-consumer items including cheeseboards, shelves, and desks. Now, it is focused on the “major next step [in] proving out a truly circular model: creating the furniture for the restaurants that donate their chopsticks.” The company has become the sole manufacturer of bar tops and wall decor for Pacific Poke, a chain in Western Canada. In the near future, it is expanding such relationships with other establishments, as well as its global reach

ChopValue utilizes a “decentralized microfactory” model, which means it opens a small factory in each location where it operates, via franchises. “As well as creating new jobs, this cuts the transport emissions of carrying raw materials thousands of miles to one factory, and then shipping the product back out.”

Noted founder and CEO Felix Böck, “The sheer volume of chopsticks made me realize that even the smallest things can work in a viable circular economy, as long as you do it the right way.”

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