How Is Wooden Disposable Wooden Tableware Made

Disposable Wooden Tableware Production Process

Raw Material Selection and Pre-treatment

Selection of raw materials: Select fast-growing forest logs with diameters of 18-24 cm, ensuring no knots, cracks, or other defects

Cutting and Segmentation: Saw the logs into lengths suitable for processing (approximately 1-1.5 m)

Steam Treatment: Steam at 98°C for 2-4 hours to achieve three main purposes:

Softening wood fibers to facilitate subsequent processing

Removing bark to obtain a clean surface

Disinfection and sterilization to ensure food safety

Forming Processing

Slicing: Use a rotary saw to cut the logs into 1-3 mm thick sheets (plywood)

Pressing and Forming:

Place the sheets in a dedicated mold, apply 40 tons of high pressure and 120-150°C heat for 20-30 seconds

Form the required shapes, such as chopsticks, forks, and spoons, with an accuracy of ±0.5 mm

Post-processing and Quality Control

Drying: Process in a drying kiln/dryer to reduce moisture content to 8-12% (standard requirement ≤ 12%)

Polishing: Two rounds of sanding to ensure a smooth surface without burrs, enhancing the user experience

Disinfection: UV sterilization (UV-C band), ensuring microbial indicators are qualified

Quality Inspection:

Thickness Measurement (error <±0.1 mm)

Moisture Content Measurement (8-12%)

Shape Accuracy (error <±0.5 mm)

Microbial Testing (total colony count ≤ 100CFU/g, no detection of coliform bacteria)

Parameters Dispoable Wooden Tableware

Production Capacity

National annual output: 320 million tons (2024), with bamboo products accounting for 38%, and the rest being桦木，杨木， etc.

Capacity of a single production line：

Chopsticks： 100，000 pairs / 8 hours (3-4 workers)， 1 m³ of raw material can produce 55，000 pairs (φ5.0mm， 210mm long)

Knife-Plate Set： 8-100，000 sets/day (automated production line)

Market Size

Chinese Market：

2020： 4.23 billion yuan (slowed by the pandemic by 8.7%)

2025： 7.64 billion yuan (5-year CAGR 12.5%)

2030 Prediction： Over 10.5 billion yuan (CAGR 11.5%)

Global Market： 2024 approximately 2.294 billion US dollars， with a growth rate of 8-12%

Raw Material Consumption and Cost

Wood Utilization Rate： Industry average 65-75%， advanced enterprises over 85%

Energy Consumption Indicators：

Steam Treatment： 1.2-1.5 tons of steam/ton of wood

Drying： 80-100 kWh / ton of product

Cost Composition (taking wooden chopsticks as an example)：

Raw Materials： 55-60%

Energy： 15-20%

Labor： 10-15%

Packaging： 5-10%

Others (equipment depreciation， etc.)： 5-10%

Product Performance Parameters

Heat Resistance： High-quality wooden tableware maintains integrity in 100°C water for ≥ 45 minutes， 40% higher than sugarcane pulp products (32 minutes)

Load-bearing Capacity： Wooden trays can withstand ≥ 5 kg pressure without deformation

Biodegradability： Within 180 days， degradation rate ≥ 90% (compliant with GB/T 36878-2018 standard)

Safety： Formaldehyde migration ≤ 15mg/kg， heavy metals (lead ≤ 1.0mg/kg， arsenic ≤ 0.5mg/kg)

Case Analysis

Eco-Tableware Production Case (Birch Cutlery)

Production capacity and market:

Annual production capacity: Knife, fork, and spoon sets 80 million sets, coffee stirring sticks 120 million pieces

Customers: International chain brands such as Starbucks, KFC, Costco, etc. The products are exported to Europe, America, and Japan.

Wood chopstick production in Shandong (poplar wood chopsticks)

Technological innovation:

Introducing a fully automated production line, from raw wood to packaging, is fully automated. The number of workers is reduced by 60%, and the efficiency is increased by 80%

The cutting accuracy of CNC is ±0.3mm, and the product defect rate is < 0.5%

Using non-gummed hot pressing technology to avoid chemical residues, in line with FDA and LFGB international standards

Cost-effectiveness:

Single piece cost: 0.03-0.05 yuan (large-scale production)

Export price: 0.08-0.12 yuan per piece, with a gross profit margin of 35-45%

Annual export volume: 800 million pairs, accounting for 70% of the enterprise's total output

Innovative case of bamboo tableware (bamboo lunch boxes)

Process flow:

Selecting bamboo that is 5 years old or older, softening through steaming (98℃, 2 hours) → slicing (2mm) → molding (130℃, 40 tons, 30 seconds) → UV disinfection → packaging

Performance advantages:

Temperature resistance up to 120℃, suitable for hot food delivery

Lightweight (20% lighter than plastic), high strength (50% higher than pulp)

Can be completely degraded, with no residues after being buried in the soil for 6 months

Market application:

After a certain food delivery platform required the use of bamboo tableware, plastic waste was reduced by 30%, brand image was enhanced, and environmentally conscious consumers were attracted.

A hot pot chain restaurant replaced plastic tableware with bamboo tableware, reducing costs by 25% and obtaining the "Green Restaurant" title.

Industry standards and certifications

Summary

One-time wooden tableware, with its characteristics of being renewable, biodegradable, safe, and non-toxic, is becoming the mainstream alternative to traditional plastic tableware. The production process includes core steps such as selecting raw wood, steaming and softening, slicing and shaping, and drying and disinfection. The key lies in controlling moisture content (8-12%), heat pressure parameters (120-150℃, 40 tons), and microbial indicators.

Data highlights:

Annual production in China is 3.2 million tons, with a market size of 7.6 billion yuan (in 2025)

Single set cost is 0.03-0.5 yuan (depending on product type), with export premium reaching 30-100%

Thermal stability: Does not deform after boiling in 100℃ water for 45 minutes, far exceeding traditional alternatives

With the deepening of the "plastic ban order" and the enhancement of environmental awareness, the market for one-time wooden tableware will continue to expand. It is expected to exceed 10.5 billion yuan in 2030, becoming an important pillar in the green packaging field.