380 million metric tons! That’s how much plastic waste is produced every year, of which a large proportion is from single use plastic plates. To reduce this, companies like Adaaya need to mass produce sustainable alternatives. Adaaya uses machines to achieve this. One of the most important machines are the hydraulic plate making machines. They give the plates their shapes and do so efficiently, producing up to 25,000 plates in a shift of 8 hours, depending on the model. Once the leaves are dried and washed, they become malleable. It is at this point that the hydraulic machine comes into play, stamping out the shape of the plate from the sheath of the leaf as needed. The operator operates the machine by foot, feeding the sheath into the machine as it creates the plates. How many plates would you expect a company like Adaaya to produce everyday, with such a machine?