But now, this local company is upcycling them into shelves, cutting boards, and furniture.

然而現在有家當地公司正在將這些免洗筷升級再造成書架、砧板與家具。

Can it help reduce the massive amount of single-use items in restaurants around the world?

它能幫助全世界的餐廳減少這種一次性餐具的使用嗎？

We visited ChopValue's headquarters in Canada to find out.

為了找出答案，我們拜訪了位於加拿大的 ChopValue 總部。

ChopValue drivers pick up used chopsticks from over 300 restaurants around Vancouver a couple times a week.

ChopValue 一個禮拜會有兩次從溫哥華附近大約三百間餐廳收集用過的免洗筷。

Typically about 100 kilograms a day, up to 150.

通常一天能收集到 100 公斤左右，最多 150 公斤。

Pre-COVID, it was more closer to like, 300 kilograms a day.

在新冠疫情之前，比較接近每天 300 公斤左右。

The restaurants part with them for free.

餐廳們會免費將免洗筷送給他們。

After they got in, I believe all 5,000 pairs being recycled and reused. So, it's a great thing.

在他們來了之後，我想應該有共 5000 雙免洗筷被回收再利用了。所以這確實是不錯。

The real work begins at ChopValue HQ.

真正的作業則在 ChopValue 展開。

The founder, Felix Böck, calls this place a micro-factory.

創辦人 Felix Böck 將這個地方稱為微型工廠。

Just like a microbrewery, curious visitors can come in and see how small batches of tiles get made.

就像微型釀造坊一樣，好奇的拜訪者們能夠走進工廠，並參觀小批量的磚片是怎麼製造出來的。

And this is how the process looks like from raw material to end product.

這就是從原料到最終產品的整個製程看起來的樣子。

First, they sort the chopsticks on the custom-built shaker table.

首先，他們會先在這張特製的搖動分離桌上將免洗筷分類。

These neat stacks are easier to work with.

堆疊整齊之後更好處理。

Then they dip the sticks into a water-based resin.

接著他們將免洗筷浸入一種水性的樹脂內。

That provides a protective coating before they roast in a massive oven for five hours.

在它們被放入巨大的烤箱中烘烤超過五小時之前，這能作為一個保護性的塗層。

The 200-degree heat kills all the germs.

200 華氏度 (約 93 攝氏度) 的高溫可以殺死所有細菌。

It smells like a bakery.

聞起來像是個麵包店一樣。

They need to get separated again so they can be spread out evenly for the next step.

接著要再次進行分離，好讓它們在下個步驟中能分散均勻。

You can take your frustration out on the day inside here.

你可以把平日的不滿都發洩在這裡。

They're weighed precisely.

它們接著被精準地測量重量。

This batch will make ChopValue's thinnest tile.

這一批免洗筷會拿來做成 ChopValue 最薄的磚片。

So about 560 grams.

所以大約是 560 公克。

Then comes the big squeeze.

接著就是大力擠壓的時候了。

A hydraulic machine, also invented by Böck's team, compresses the chopsticks with hundreds of pounds of pressure.

一台同樣由 Böck 的團隊所發明出的液壓機器會以數百磅的壓力壓縮這些免洗筷。

The heart of the process that densifies like a cake, a mat of chopsticks, into a new, uniform, engineered material.

整個工序的核心是把像是蛋糕一樣的一片免洗筷，聚合成一個全新、統一的工程材料。

Which is the base modular tile used for all of our end products.

而這就是用在我們所有最終產品上的基本模組。

The tiles can be sanded and assembled into furniture, and also cut into smaller products like coasters, or even domino pieces.

這些磚片能被研磨並組裝成家具，並也被切成較小型的產品，像是杯墊，甚至是骨牌等等。

This desk sells for just under $1,000.

這個桌子售價僅低於 1000 美元一些。

That's about three times what you'd pay at Ikea, but comparable to the price of a desk made from solid wood.

這大約是 IKEA 桌子的三倍價格，但與一張由實木製作的桌子價格相仿。

This piece is made from about 10,000 chopsticks.

這張桌子由約一萬根免洗筷製成。

ChopValue also takes custom orders.

ChopValue 也接受客製化訂單。

We could do large countertops, or boardroom tables, or pretty much anything like that.

我們能夠製作大型流理台檯面、臥室桌子，或是任何之類的東西。

Since 2016, the company has upcycled 33 million chopsticks that otherwise would have ended up in a landfill.

從 2016 年開始，該公司已升級再造了 3300 萬根原本可能會被丟進垃圾掩埋場的免洗筷。

But in China, people use that many wood utensils in one lunch break.

然而在中國，全國光是一頓午餐就會用上那麼多的木製餐具。

There, people throw out 130 million pairs every single day.

在那裡，人們每天會丟棄 1 億 3 千萬雙免洗筷。

That means leveling entire forests for a product most people use for just one meal.

這代表光是為了生產這個人們大多只會用上一餐的產品，就得夷平一整座森林。

It's not just Asia. Consumers around the world contribute to this problem.

不只是亞洲而已。全世界的消費者們都得為這樣的問題負責。

We all have this drawer filled with plastic cutlery, chopsticks, condiments that we never asked for.

我們都有一個塞滿了各種我們沒主動要求，卻隨餐附上的塑膠餐具、筷子、調味料等的抽屜。

Inexpensive, they're cheap, they just come in without you even asking for them.

它們相當便宜，就算你不主動索取也會附上。

Sheila Morovati is the woman behind the Cut Out Cutlery campaign.

Sheila Morovati 是「除去餐具」活動背後的主使者。

Her organization pressured major delivery apps to opt out of sending cutlery by default.

她的組織迫使各主要外送服務應用程式將附上餐具預設為不需要。

She estimates that saved well over 200 million utensils from going to landfill.

她估計這麼做已挽救了 2 億個免洗餐具最終被丟棄至垃圾掩埋場的命運。

Good job, Sheila.

做得好，Sheila。

Activists in China tried a similar strategy.

中國的推動者們也嘗試了一個類似的策略。

In 2017, they sued their country's biggest food delivery apps, trying to force them to stop giving cutlery by default.

在 2017 年時，他們控告了該國最大的餐飲外送應用程式，試著想逼迫他們停止將給予免洗餐具作為預設選項。

There was a public outcry at the time, but since the pandemic, food delivery with single-use items is higher than ever.

在當時引發了大眾的共鳴，但自從疫情開始之後，附帶單次使用餐具的飲食外送服務達到了有史以來的高峰。

So we may never eliminate disposables completely.

因此我們可能永遠都無法消除免洗餐具的使用。

That's why Sheila says upcycling is so important.

這就是為什麼 Sheila 表示升級再造相當重要。

If there are opportunities like that to use something that was going in the trash or headed to landfill, why not?

如果能有利用這些本來會丟進垃圾堆或掩埋場裡的東西的機會，那何樂而不為呢？

We have so much trash right now, and it's just, we're at the limit. The planet can't take it anymore.

我們現在的垃圾量實在太多了，已經到達了極限。地球已經沒辦法再承受了。

When ChopValue first started, it was only making coasters.

在 ChopValue 剛創立的時候，他們只有製作杯墊而已。

Now it has franchises in three cities in North America, with more expected later this year.

現在它在北美的三個城市有經銷商，並在明年還預計開張更多。

Coasters are still the No. 1 selling item, but the collection has grown to more than 30 products.

杯墊仍是他們的銷售冠軍，但他們現在已有超過 30 款產品。

And Felix Böck hopes his invention will show people that the next big idea for reducing waste could be right at our fingertips.

Felix Böck 希望他的發明能向人們展示，其實減少垃圾的重大發想，可能就在我們的彈指之間。

You put a few tiles and a few hexagon shelves on your wall, and you can point your friends to your wall and say, "Hey, guess what? I have 1,800 chopsticks on my wall."

把一些磚片和一些六角書架掛在牆上，然後指著它跟朋友說：「嘿，你知道嗎？我的牆上有 1800 根免洗筷喔。」

And you start a conversation about sustainability or about recycling.

然後你就能開始一段關於永續性或是回收的對話。