Is bamboo the real solution to plastic pollution ?
Whether it is the deepest point in the ocean, the Mariana Trench or the beautiful summit of Mount Everest; all are littered with plastic waste.
What’s more concerning is, Not only plastic has polluted every nook and corner of environment; it has invaded your food as well. A recent study shows that microplastics were found in 90% of the table salt sampled worldwide.
Let’s break down this issue through the fundamentals of Economics, Supply & Demand.
Supply Side:
1. The story of plastic took off in 1900s when a company called Bakelite Group promoted plastic as ‘The Material of Thousand Uses’.
2. In the name of Profit & Convenience, Companies like to rely on plastic.
3. Companies like Cocacola have been neglecting the plastic alternatives like glass bottle since bottle recollection is tedious.
Demand Side:
1. People are unaware of what all the plastic alternatives are available in market.
2. Even if plastic alternatives are available, they tend to be costlier killing the buying interest.
But somehow we have to get out of this vicious cycle of Unawareness & Neglect. We all know plastic recycling is just not sufficient and problem has to be addressed at the source.
Frustrated by this situation, I started looking for the solutions. Eventually, I came across Bamboo almost a year ago and since then I’ve collected multiple resources and did some experiments at personal level.
Through this essay, I want to take your attention to the fastest growing grass called ‘Bamboo’ and how it can help us reduce plastic consumption.
Bamboo Products
I know it sounds unbelievable, but Bamboo can be used as fabric also. It requires much less water than cotton and needs no pesticides. It is the fastest growing plant on Earth because it is part of the grass family and requires less land than cotton or trees because of how densely it grows.
Till today, There are more than 1500 documented uses of bamboo from cradle to coffin. Clearly, It is unjust to call Bamboo as ‘Poor Man’s Timber’.
Why Bamboo ?
You must be wondering why I’m stressing on Bamboo. Well, the answer lies in multiple facets listed below:
- It is Climate resistant — hence can sustain the harsh environment for decades to come.
- Grows almost everywhere — helps farmers in drought hit regions
- Requires minimal attention.
- Once planted, Bamboo yields for 50+ years. Every year it regrows from same root system.
- Every part from root to shoot is useful .
Bamboo Species
Above is the list of few Bamboo species that can be profitably grown by Indian farmers. Out of them, Bambusa Balcoa is the most commonly grown Bamboo in India.
In fact, a bamboo plantation has a yield up to 25 times that of a forest. Bamboo is one of the most environmentally friendly crops that exists today. It does not require pesticides or artificial fertilizers.
India’s Bamboo Industry
Bamboo India, A startup based out of Pune deserves a special mention here. Founded by Mr. & Mrs. Shinde in 2016, Bamboo India now sells bamboo based products all over India.
Recently, Team Bamboo India appeared on shark tank and was appreciated by sharks for their business model. Even during the pandemic, they achieved spectacular sales figures.
However, The Bamboo industrial complex has been struggling to grow since last 80 years or so. There were many reasons behind this, Bamboo farming being the most prominent one.
Unfortunately Bamboo farming was way too difficult up until 2017. Here’s the story behind,
Back in 1940's, Britishers passed a new law which categorized Bamboo as ‘Tree’ species. Bamboo, even though biologically a ‘Grass’ species, was now being treated as ‘Tree’ all because of this law.
This law made things too difficult for bamboo farmers since they had to pass through multiple governmental clearances to grow, cut, transport and sell the bamboo to markets.
Bamboo based industries couldn’t due to supply shortage. Sadly, Even after independence, India had to depend on imports to fulfill its demands. Forget about other bamboo products, even the bamboo sticks used to make Agarbatti (Incense) was largely imported.
Did you know? India is the 2nd largest Bamboo growing country yet contributes less than 6% to global bamboo market.
China, on the other hand, had been capitalizing on Bamboo since late 1960’s. China, The largest Bamboo growing country, contributes to more than 60% of global bamboo market needs thanks to its bamboo based industrial corridors.
Fortunately, through the efforts of Bamboo Development Board, Parliament passed a bill amending Forest Act in 2017 which will exclude Bamboo from defination of Tree.
The Bill now permits felling and transit of bamboo grown in non-forest areas.
Indian Government Schemes
Determined to explore, I visited the Government Office where all such matters are handled. Roaming through the passages full of dust, a passerby directed me to a department called ‘Social Forestry’ where I met this young official sitting in a far corner.
The bureaucrat, who had piles of documents spread in front of him, sported a very welcoming personality. To my surprise, He went on describing all the Central and State level schemes such as National Bamboo Mission & Atal Bamboo Samruddhi Scheme.
As per him, Goverment has acknowledged the importance of bamboo and is willing to support farmers like never before. He said, “The district now has about five hundred bamboo farmers. Half a decade ago, The same number was zero.”
It will take another blog If I were to explain all those schemes. So, I’ll leave all the necessary links down below.
Final Thoughts
According a study done by Reuters, 75% people want single use plastic to be banned. Now the onus is on Industrialists and Governments to adopt and promote plastic free products as soon as possible.
I hope people will whole heartedly embrace bamboo in the years to come.
References:
Thank you for reading this far! Climate Change, Poor Design, and Financial Illiteracy concern me the most, Hit my DM to solve it together :)
