Replacing Plastic with Bamboo: Pros and Cons
Author: Sruti Soumya Mishra
There has been a huge hype recently in determining the exact product or material to use to build up products that would be sustainable for the environment. Sustainability has become a huge concern in today’s time when any business is set up. Plastic has been regarded as the worst material that humans have ever used till today. The carbon emissions of plastic cannot be tolerated on earth anymore. Global warming is alarming day by day and hence eco-friendly measures are being applied thoroughly in every step of life. Since we have been talking about bamboo and we are a part of the bamboo industry, we would love to let you know how bamboo is sustainable and can replace the unsustainable products made with plastic. Bamboo has been known to everyone and there have been many countries nowadays that have been feeling the need and sustainability of bamboo. Let's cover both the good and the bad if Bamboo were to replace plastic.
The Mind-blowing Pros of Using Bamboo
Bamboo has been all way sustainable due to the re-use nature of the bamboo products that have been made. Another plus point that bamboo holds over plastic is the nature of biodegradability. Whether a product is sustainable or not is highly decided by the material's biodegradability. It is not that plastic is fully non-biodegradable but the fact that it takes thousands of years to biodegrade plastic. Also, bio-degrading plastic is harmful to the soil too. So was this all that we should consider for replacing the plastic with bamboo? Well, not just this but one must look at the carbon emissions that the plastic-making industries produce. There has been a huge protest to reduce plastic bag usage in recent times. Many countries have been depending on jute bags, other substitutes. So here’s how bamboo can be a good and best substitute for plastic.
First of all, to start with the very initial step of setting up bamboo is what you need is the raw material called “Bamboo”. Of course, it would sound crazy, but bamboo is super easy to grow that requires no real fertilizers. Also, bamboo does have the rich property of being antifungal and anti-bacterial in nature. A product needs to be durable so as to Mark it as the best-used product. So the material used in making the product must also have the highest durability. So bamboo is considered to be more durable than plastic or any other materials. If someone has been wondering if bamboo agriculture would make other losses like soil, water, etc. but the fact is bamboo helps in preventing soil erosion and also it does not require a great amount of water. So, yes it actually is environmentally friendly. Also, bamboo has been greatly used as a raw material for house-building purposes. The preference for using bamboo comes from itsother greater advantage which is its fire resistance ability. Bamboo materialsthat have been highly used up in house buildings are resistant to pests, termites, insects, etc.
Cons of Using Bamboo
Every coin does have two sides. Besides the benefits of replacing plastic with bamboo, there have been a lot of other factors that can say a complete no to the plastic bamboo replacement theory. Firstly, to make a note of why should not bamboo be used as a replacement for plastic or why bamboo would not be the best replacement choice for plastic, one should know that bamboo industries do spend a lot on bamboo preservation. Bamboo, in fact, is long-term durable but on the other hand, it is highly regarded as a material that has the high capacity of shrinking. Also, the reliability of bamboo for the industrialists is not a very fruitful choice. Bamboo-based products do now require innovations in jointing technologies and also high reliability on the structures made out of bamboo. Also, the bamboo industrialists suffer a lot because of the high unavailability of the industrial machines that would be required to process the bamboo products. Also, the shipment process of the bamboo products especially the house building products made of bamboo becomes a huge mess. Bamboo being a natural material can detonate depending upon various weather conditions. Hence, most of the folks would not find bamboo as a good option too.
Bamboo Products That Have Popularly Replaced Plastic till Now
There have been so many popular products that use bamboo as their main raw material now and have been a success.The most common use of bamboo that people can see is the bamboo straws that have been a hit favoring the idea of replacing the hazardous material plastic. There have been many other eco-friendly bamboo products that are in use today. For example, bamboo diapers, bamboo bathroom products, bamboo toothbrushes, and other toiletries. Apart from this, there has been a huge use of bambooin the kitchen for decoration, cutleries, and much more. Also, one can never forget how well bamboo is used as vegetable cutting boards too. Bamboo chairs and tables have been a great long-lasting item that is loved by people.
Conclusion
Looking out for plastic alternatives is what society today wants. Disregarding the disadvantages of bamboo as an alternative for plastic still the material made out of bamboo stands in a high position ahead of plastic. The only requirement of the society is to accept how bamboo can be useful and spread the awareness of saying a complete no to plastic usage.
Bamboo can be an amazing replacement for products that we use today. Using bamboo does not only would make the environment glow but also is very healthy. The bamboo products have been very eco-friendly along with being a budget-friendly option too for civilians. The concept of the replacement of plastic with bamboo is not just why bamboo would be the best choice but how plastic is the worst choice for the environment. The harm that plastic contributesto our green planet is much high. Near about millions of plastics are dumped each day with no signs of them degrading. It’s high time to think of alternatives to plastic and save the planet without taking the green hue of the earth for granted.
