Whenever we tend to throw something like paper, food peels, leaves, etc there are small tiny creatures in nature – the bacteria – which eat these things up or turn them into useful products that nature loves. These things are called ‘Biodegradable’.
‘Non-Biodegradable‘ things, on the other hand, like glass, steel, and plastic – cannot be turned into useful, nature-friendly products. The bacteria just can’t eat them up or break them up.
Plastic is harmful because it is ‘Non-Biodegradable’. When thrown onto land it makes the soil less fertile. When we used to throw plastic in water it chokes our ponds, rivers, and oceans and harms sea life.
Sometimes because of eating plastic animals may get sick because plastic might get stuck in their stomach. Why? Because the bacterium in their abdomen cannot break the plastic up into smaller pieces.
Several tons of plastic moving around the world’s oceans have garnered a lot of media attention recently. But plastic pollution arguably poses a much bigger threat to plants and animals – together with humans – who are based on land.
Very little of the plastic we discard every day is recycled or incinerated in waste-to-energy facilities. Much of it finally ends up in landfills, where it may take up to 1,000 years to decompose, leaching potentially toxic substances into the soil and water.
Researchers in Germany are warning that the impact of microplastics in soils, sediments, and freshwater could have a long-term negative effect on such ecosystems. They say terrestrial microplastic pollution is far above marine microplastic pollution – estimated at four to twenty-three times higher, depending on the environment.
The study estimates that one-third of all plastic waste ends up in soils or freshwater.
Most of this plastic disintegrates into particles smaller than 5 millimeters, referred to as micro plastics, and these break down additional into nanoparticles (less than zero.1 micrometers in size).
The problem is that these particles are entering the food chain.
Toxic effects of Plastic
Chlorinated plastic will release harmful chemicals into the encompassing soil, which may then feed into groundwater or different surrounding water sources, and additionally the ecosystem. This can cause a variety of probably harmful effects on the species that drink the water.
Let Bamboo Make Replacement with Plastic in Your Life
Unless you’re living during a vast bubble of denial, I believe we will able to} all agree that plastic product is usually bad!
Plastics have a negative impact on the earth.
It’s time to take a step back and look for alternatives to that product, and bamboo is proving to be a solid answer. Bamboo is associated with eco-friendly various to several everyday products.
I’ve been buying and using the bamboo products a lot of and furthermore the years as against plastic products. The look and feel of bamboo are positively higher than and beyond plastic, however, there should be additional positive aspects to bamboo than simply aesthetics.
Also read Well-ness centric Houseplants purifying indoors
That led me to analyze the foremost impactful reasons why we must always use bamboo rather than plastic.
So why should we use bamboo rather than plastic?
Bamboo is a highly renewable, natural material that has antibacterial, antifungal properties and is biodegradable as opposed to plastic.
Plastic will take up to a thousand years to biodegrade and is that the leading reason behind mass pollution everywhere the world.
Bamboo has become the “green gold” of nowadays as a result of its numerous positive qualities compared to harmful and wasteful materials like plastic.
In a time when most of our homes are filled with plastic, and knowing the strong negative effects of owning plastic, it’s time to wake up to the green alternative that really is a planet saver; bamboo.
Using Bamboo Instead of Plastic
Bamboo has very tall and solid trunks; Bamboo mainly belongs to the grass family.
Some can grow almost 1 meter in twenty-four hours. Our society is so used to using plastic products now that it’s part of our daily life. It’s cheap, convenient, and light. However, it’s also becoming clear that it’s really not the best choice of product to use every day for health reasons and for its life cycle. It has been proven that all plastic secretes estrogen imitators that are a precursor to cancers and other related health issues.
Importance of Bamboo:
1. Bamboo is a grass, not a tree. It is naturally organic and dos do not require pesticides, fertilizers or irrigation to enhance growth. It instead grows like a weed.
2. It is antibacterial & hypoallergenic
3. Bamboo can be made into reusable wooden baskets. Over time even when these disintegrate, they go back to dust – a natural product that even when ingested by animals is not toxic to them.
For better or worse (and more recently, worse), plastic has changed our everyday lives. Being one of the financially cheapest materials to produce on the planet and its ability to take many physical forms, it’s been a game-changer in the kinds of products we’re able to manufacture. Think of every cell phone you’ve owned, every toothbrush, the packages you open when purchasing something from the store, and even the materials used inside our cars.
Plastic has been a staple within the growth of our culture, society, and economic affluence, but it’s come at a fairly heavy price.
In what ways, you might ask? Well, some include:
• 50 percent of the plastic is never reused or recycled in the future.
• After 1000 years plastic has been biodegrading.
• In the world, Over 1 million plastic bags are used every minute.
• Creating plastic requires fossil fuels (oil), which increases our planet’s carbon immissions.
• Over 17 billion pounds (8 billion kilograms) of plastic end up in the ocean every year.
These are just some of the reasons why using plastic is having a detrimental impact on our lives and environment and why we need to reduce our use of plastic. Year after year these problems only get worse when not properly addressing the issue of replacing plastic with a more eco-friendly, sustainable solution. That’s where bamboo comes in.
In recent years, bamboo becomes “green gold” for modern times.
This super-powered plant is really a grass and acts like a weed in terms of however quickly it will grow and wherever it will live.
There are numerous reasons to move away from plastic and switch entirely to bamboo.
Some of these reasons include:
• Bamboo can grow without fertilizers or pesticides.
• Bamboo is naturally anti-bacterial and anti-fungal.
• Bamboo can regrow to adult size to be harvested within 3 to 5 years.
• Bamboo can grow in many different environments countries like China, Africa, South America, USA, and India.
• Bamboo is biodegradable.
• Bamboo produces 35% more oxygen compared to similar plants.
• Bamboo naturally helps rebuild eroded soil.
• Bamboo almost never needs replanting.
• Bamboo is an extremely durable material.
• Bamboo plants need less watering so, often requiring no irrigation systems.
Popular Bamboo products that replace plastic products
Now you might be question yourself that which products should I buy that is made up of bamboo?” There are lots of varieties of bamboo products that you can swap from plastic to bamboo. While we currently aren’t able to swap everything, since plastic is still a major staple in the retail world and arguably does provide value, there are still numerous options available.
Bamboo Cutting Board
Probably the best start in your migration from plastic products to bamboo products is with a bamboo cutting board. I bought the Extra Large Organic Bamboo Cutting Board by Royal Craft Wood (link to read reviews on Amazon) and absolutely love it. This contribution is totally worth it because the nature of bamboo ensures it’ll last a long time and it’s naturally resistant to fungus and bacteria.
Think about all the times you’ve cut veggies before or after having just cut some beef, chicken, or another kind of meat. Plastic doesn’t resist any sort of cross-contamination as opposed to bamboo, so getting a bamboo cutting board is an easy win.
Bamboo Serving Tray
There are so many different kinds of bamboo serving trays out there; you’ll never have a problem finding the one that best fits your style. Bamboo serving trays are currently on demand and are steadily replacing plastic, wood, and other less sustainable materials. As a matter of fact, the Solid Bamboo Serving Tray by Lipper International (link to read reviews on Amazon) is what I own due to being durable and able to hold a full dinner in one goes.
The added benefits of owning a bamboo serving tray are that they’re extremely durable, they’re easy to clean, and they look great when used for serving as well as a decorative piece.
Disposable Bamboo Cutlery
Whenever you go to a BBQ or some get-together, it’s almost always the case that the cutlery is made out of plastic. This is how we’ve always done it, but the problem is that it can be extremely wasteful because plastic cutlery is mainly a one-time use product and rarely gets recycled. The Disposable Bamboo Cutlery Set by Bamboodlers (link to read reviews on Amazon) is a perfect choice and is far better than any plastic competitor out there.
With disposable bamboo cutlery, not only is it naturally biodegradable and anti-bacterial, but it also looks great! The combination of looks and eco-friendly disposal is a huge win in my book.
Bamboo Toothbrush
Every Dentist says we should replace our toothbrush after every 3 to 4 months, which means if everyone in our house is using plastic toothbrushes, you’ve got a lot of plastic waste. Unfortunately, many plastic toothbrushes are made with the help of other materials, like rubber, and other synthetic materials, so throwing them away is very harmful to the environment. If you plan on getting a set of bamboo toothbrushes, you definitely want to check out 100% Natural Bamboo Toothbrushes by GoWoo (link to read reviews on Amazon). Trust me, they’re amazing.
That’s why making use of bamboo toothbrushes is an excellent way to help the environment. In my opinion, they look and work fantastically, and even my family started appreciating them after I bought them.
Bamboo Drinking Straws
You can probably imagine that there is a huge number of drinking straws we use on planet earth. Sadly, as I’m sure we’re all aware, most plastic straws end up in the garbage, which goes straight to a landfill. Me and my family use the Organic Bamboo Drinking Straws by Worthy Picks (link to read reviews on Amazon), which even come with a handy cleaner.
Using bamboo drinking straws has become a very popular way to battle with this environmental disaster, and I love to see it becoming more popular as time goes on.
The fad behind using Bamboo Products?
Moving from plastic to bamboo is just a new fad, and I can understand that feeling. Every year we’re blasted with “Go Green!” advertising and it’s become common to ignore it due to disingenuous marketing and advertising. At the same time, we have a planet that’s becoming more and unhealthier as the years go by, therefore addressing this crisis by reducing our use of plastic is very important.
Bamboo as an alternative to plastic is a viable solution in many use-cases. The disadvantage of plastic usage is that it is one of the major contributors to pollution on the plant is a very good reason to find an eco-friendly, renewable alternative, and I’m so thankful that the bamboo plant is a great replacement for this. The qualities of bamboo can really help our earth and hopefully, one day, it will become more common in our retail world.
Unfortunately, we can’t replace everything made of plastic with bamboo because plastic is still a very useful material in daily life. Regardless of its negative impact on the environment, we still need it because it’s extremely cheap, malleable, and abundant.