What is stronger than oak, harder than maple, and each restaurant in Singapore produces 4kg of it every week? You guessed it: chopsticks. In Singapore, over half a million chopsticks get used every day, and they are an excellent, underutilised raw material.
ChopValue, founded by Felix Bock in 2016 in Vancouver, is the world’s first circular economy brand that designs and manufactures products entirely from recycled chopsticks harvested from urban environments. It was brought to Singapore in March this year by mompreneur Evelyn Hew. Today, ChopValue Singapore has harvested considerable amounts of chopsticks from local restaurants, launched an online shop that aims to expand and cater to the demand for sustainable goods, and opened a microfactory with plans to turn it into an educational experience centre. We find out more from Evelyn.
In 2015, I founded sustainability consultancy Smartcity Solutions, which provides IoT (Internet of Things) solutions to the waste management industry.
Our team had a first-hand view of the waste problems we face in Singapore, such as the challenges in recycling and upcycling, a lack of off-takers for our recyclables, contamination in recyclables, and the lack of innovative and scalable products made from recycled materials.
After that, we began searching for a solution and stumbled upon a video of ChopValue. I thought it might be the catalyst Singapore needs to make the circular economy every day.
Felix and I connected in Canada, and by March 2021, my team and I had committed to bringing this circular economy franchise to South-east Asia.
As of November 2021, we have collected about 4kg of chopsticks per restaurant per week. In 2022, we hope to collect 15,000kg of chopsticks per month on an islandwide basis – that’s five million chopsticks!
Every day in Singapore, we estimate that at least 500,000 chopsticks are being thrown out, and we aim to upcycle all of them. We will save 550 tonnes of waste from incineration every year and store 335,000 tonnes of carbon in functional products by achieving this.
Moreover, we would have provided an alternative that outperforms traditional lumber, is stronger than oak, and harder than maple. We can create products we need without having to use virgin resources from forests, protecting the lungs of our planet. In addition, we get to enjoy beautifully designed conversation starters. Imagine working on a desk made of chopsticks you used last week.
Sometimes, our sustainability mission can be a business challenge. By making handmade pieces locally, we’d like to accelerate the circular economy, but our supply is constrained by our ability to harvest urban resources.
As we can’t simply place an order for raw materials, the chopsticks we collect are the raw material we use to create the handmade pieces.
Manufacturing in Singapore is also relatively expensive. We are thankful that we were able to partner with Sembwaste to solve part of the collection problem – the rest will be solved by economies of scale.
Our philosophy is that a local problem should be solved by locals, and manpower is a challenge. Nonetheless, we plan to use technology to enable us to scale.
Our bestseller includes the Wall Decor Set and the modular wall shelving system SMILE. Our end-tables that are made of 1,800 recycled chopsticks are popular too!
ChopValue Microfactories are small factories – around 2,500 sq ft – with a small workforce that leverages technology and carbon-neutral processes while preserving the aspect of craftsmanship. Every single product is made by hand.
We also plan to host an experience centre and offer educational tours at our factory. Visitors can expect to see our behind-the-scenes processes and participate in hands-on activities.
Collaboration is a key component of our strategy. Our environmental problem is a shared problem, and the solution will be shared as well.
Collaboration with local furniture brand Commune is already underway, and co-branded designs will be available soon.
1) Recycle, repurpose, and repair whenever possible
2) Use the UpCircle app, a local platform that connects users with usable items that would otherwise be discarded with people who need them. UpCircle allows you to participate as a contributor, a creator, or both.
3) Consume responsibly.
Our goal is to establish a strong presence in Singapore so that ChopValue can offer an alternative perspective on how we handle waste.
We hope to inspire others to upcycle other waste stream components through our work, and we view these future movers and shakers as collaborators rather than competitors.
We are also looking to expand regionally within the next five years. Exciting times!
Text: Asih Jenie/Home & Decor