This story came to me via The David Report and was just too cool for school.  I’ll say it again: I am absolutely enamored with Cultural Creatives thinking outside of the box.  Here’s the story written by David Carlson:

UFO  (Unidentified Feeding Object) is a mono-use disposable plate designed by Andrea Ruggiero for InDisposed – an exhibition which invited designers to address notions of disposability in everyday products.

Lightweight and rigid, UFO is designed to to be used at picnics, garden parties, beach parties or barbeques and disposed of by launching it into the bushes – exactly like a frisbee.

Upon impact, the plates break into smaller pieces and then serve to feed birds, squirrels or rodents, referencing the waste=food principle. The very act of launching the plate makes its disposal shameless and fun (a cross between an olympic discus event and a Greek wedding) and the impact of the plate becomes a necessary component of the process.

In Italian, such mono-use objects are referred to as “usa e getta” or literally, “use and throw” in English. Though semantically disturbing, this was the inspiration behind the UFO concept. UFO is made of a unique composite of blended bird seed, potato starch, guar gum, and a seaweed-like binding agent. The plates are highly resistant to wet foods, vinegars and sauces, yet completely biodegradable, non-toxic, and vegan.

P.S. I heart The David Report.