Bamboozled
Paul Klymenko, director of Planet Ark, believe that one of the ways to live more 'lightly' on the earth is to look for sustainable homewares such as bamboo.
What's versatile, lightweight, yet strong and durable, and also a renewable resource? Answer: bamboo. The Chinese cottoned on to this long ago and use it for everything from chopsticks and scaffolding to flooring and furniture. Now bamboo is being used for homewares that are 100 per cent biodegradable and manufactured without pollutants. Bambooware is plates, bowls, cutlery and cups made out of reconstituted bamboo that is a sustainable, inexpensive alternative to plastic. Unbelievably, it's also reusable and even dishwasher-friendly!
Paul says bamboo is popular for flooring and building as it is a renewable resource. "It's a fast-growing grass," he states, "and it can be harvested three to five years after it's first planted. Unlike a tree, you can keep cutting it and it won't need replanting. It just grows back from the stem, making it a very 'renewable'."
Bamboo is also a great choice for homewares as it is biodegradable. "Compared to a non-reusable substance such as plastic, bamboo is a positive resource," says Paul, "at the end of its life span, it breaks down within a year or so like other woody materials, so it fits in with the cycle of nature."
Whether you choose bioplastic tableware or bambooware, saying 'no' to plastic is what matters. "Every time you make a plastic plate, you take stored carbon out of the ground - like every time you drive to the shop," says Paul. "The earth's atmosphere allows life to flourish, as carbon was locked in the ground millions of years ago, but when we take stored carbon and release it at a phenomenal rate, the effects are devastating.
"Using any renewable resource means that you are working within the carbon cycle. Everything natural is made of carbon. When we break down at the end of life, we release carbon and it is taken up by new life forms. That is why renewable resources are such a good thing. Bamboo is pest-resistant, too, so it doesn't need much in the way of pesticide."
With remarkable resources like bamboo at our fingertips, why did we ever think plastic was so fantastic?
A FEW GREEN TIPS
Look for disposable bioplastic tableware, made out of corn and potato starch.
Choose finger foods for picnics and then you won't need to pack the plastic.
WHAT ELSE CAN I DO?
Look for sheets and towels made of bamboo and cotton/bamboo mixes.
* Grown without the use of pesticides and herbicides, the bamboo in these products is organic and the fabric is naturally antibacterial and hypoallergenic.
* Bamboo towels are quick to absorb moisture and dry twice as fast as cotton.
* Cotton-and-bamboo-blend sheets such as those sold by bed-linen manufacturer Peri are soft, comfortable and eco-friendly.
Cotton
Page printed from Country Home Ideas online:
8th September 2010
http://www.countryhomeideas.com.au/p/ask_the_experts/bamboozled
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