Earlier today I was driving through Hollywood (CA), when I stopped in for a much needed pit stop at Frankie & Johnnies Pizza.

While waiting for my grub (mushroom pizza...yum!), I casually scanned the one-room, pizza parlor searching for signs of Green consciousness but failed to locate anything along those lines. I am still struck by how easy it is to start making simple, quick changes in ones life or business, in the switch to more sustainable alternatives; in this case, corn-based utensils and plates seem like such a great place to start.

A quick search online later on via Google with such keyword terms such as "corn disposable plates" and "bulk disposable paper plates", yielded a great number of retailers to choose from. And upon my first price comparison, it's not surprising that greater numbers (of vendors/restaurants) haven't made this leap yet...

The Brenmar Company carries a 100% corn, paper product and sells in bulk, 500 for $140.00 (not including shipping), see full product details here, whereas Instawares offers the same sized plate, 1,000 for $12.18 (no free shipping either at this quantity), here.

If anyone can offer some better deals on disposable, compostable products, please share. I'd also love to hear some alternatives or otherwise affordable solutions for these types of issues, in case anyone feels like sharing their two cents.

Meanwhile, I plan to conduct some polls and research with some of the local vendors in my area to see what it would take for them to make the switch to more sustainable supplies.

P.S. Just ran a quick keyword search for disposable cookware (trying to identify the proper vocabulary for plates and utensils) and came across this post on an idea for an eco-friendly giveaway.