It was the summer of April 2016, I was somewhere in an underprivileged village along the Konkan coast of India. The villagers had to cross a bridge each day to get in and out of the village. The bridge had collapsed, they were stranded. I witnessed a group of westerners who summoned a spark in their brains, they and their mates visited the garbage "storehouse" and used plastic bottles to fill them with garbage to construct steps across the waters (where the bridge originally was) and behind the tiny hills. They called them "Eco-bricks" This made me see two sides of the story, one where we use and throw undegradable materials, the other being when we rise and innovate, by which I mean we can be creative with garbage to an extent that provides convenience to the masses.
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| Bricks made of Waste; Used to make Bridges & Staircases |
Plastic, as only a handful are aware of, has been a majorly disruptive material in the field of “Environmental Sustainability”. Despite being omnipresent in every industry and being the cheapest source for packaging, it has equally brutal disadvantages. The ocean is so polluted by plastic that sea creatures are getting breathless underwater and eating plastic as a part of their diet which in turn makes a full circle to us. This material has a composition as such, that it is irrelevant for us to comment on its degradability (ranging from 200-1000 years).
Bamboo is a natural source that comes from mother earth, every bit of its composition is environment-friendly. If we consider it as an alternative to plastic it would be the most prudent choice by humanity in the 21st Century. There are billions of humans on this planet from which at least one-fold have enough money to purchase toothbrushes, the rest probably just make do. Consider a possibility where we only produce Bamboo Toothbrushes; that would save us from 5 percent of Plastic Pollution and would, in turn, lead to healthier life cycles for the threefold that cannot afford these essentials.
Another possibility is using the strong fibers inside bamboos to make bags that common people carry every day of their lives; which accounts for another 10-15 percent of Plastic Pollution. Plastic also seems to tear due to heavyweight or sharp objects. But, something as natural and strong as Bamboo fiber can withstand such stress and also increase the lifetime of such bags.
An example I could personally think of is Bamboo Straws.
Bamboo Straws are long term usable items. Not just a one-time use and throw, but this can also be used over and over. Also, in cases where products with straws are being sold to tourists, these straws are surely disposed of, but the Bamboo version boasts a quality of biodegradability which is a big plus as it would cause no harm to its surroundings.
Why is it better than plastic straws?
- Reusability
- Recyclable towards making more intricate materials for the lower class
- A completely new fashion towards drinks: Bamboo Straw
If we wish to keep humanity safe from a disease induced and looted world, we should have already begun the process of revamping our environmental standards. Substituting Bamboo for Plastic shall be an ideal manner of putting a restraint on the materials that make this world a more dangerous than comfortable place to survive. Imagine if we could curb the usage of plastic, if we could obediently follow the positive results of an environmentalist's research, that’s when we will live healthier, eat healthier and breathe healthier. So, let’s all, from this very day, begin the process to alter our choice of essentials.
