The emergence of plastic products has brought great convenience to people's lives, but due to their non degradable and difficult to degrade characteristics, they also pose a serious threat to nature and humanity itself. According to relevant data statistics, over 70% of disposable plastic products produced globally are directly discarded into soil, air, and oceans; 80% of disposable plastic products will eventually enter the ocean, and it is expected that by 2050, the total amount of plastic in the ocean will exceed that of fish.
Developing and producing alternative plastic products to protect the environment and achieve sustainable development has become a current focus of attention.
The rise of "replacing plastic with bamboo"
Although plastic is a useful product, many of them are disposable, with an estimated 50% of plastic products being disposable. This is not only harmful to the environment and oceans, but also to wildlife: it affects nearly 700 marine species and humans, and according to marine conservation organizations, plastic has been found in over 60% of seabirds and 100% of sea turtles. Swallowing plastic is life-threatening for wildlife, and this type of plastic may eventually enter human bodies. According to a recent study in Belgium, the British consume 11000 pieces of plastic annually through the consumption of fish.
Currently, only 9% of plastic is recycled worldwide. And most plastics cannot be recycled or biodegraded, usually taking over 400 years to fully degrade. Many companies have started researching how to tackle plastic pollution, but it will take time to achieve large-scale use.
Therefore, countries around the world are developing alternatives to disposable plastic products or issuing bans to prohibit the use of disposable plastic products. In March 2019, the European Parliament passed the "Comprehensive Plastic Ban", which will ban the production and sale of disposable plastic products in the EU from 2021 onwards. New Zealand will gradually and comprehensively ban disposable plastic shopping bags from 2019. Chile officially enacted the "Plastic Ban Law" in August 2018, becoming the first country in Latin America to completely ban businesses from providing plastic bags to shoppers. Most states in Australia have banned retailers from providing disposable plastic bags to customers since July 1, 2018. India plans to eliminate all disposable plastic products by 2022.
In addition, the UK, Canada, and South Korea have also implemented policies to restrict the use of plastic products. Some international business companies have also announced plans to reduce the use of plastic products. Starbucks will completely ban the use of plastic straws in its 28000 stores by 2020; McDonald's announced that its UK and Ireland stores will replace all plastic straws with paper straws starting from September 2018; IKEA has pledged to cease the sale of disposable plastic products by 2020; Some large airlines in the United States have announced that they will no longer provide plastic straws and stirrers in their cabins or lounges, and will use paper or bamboo products instead.
In response to the "white pollution" caused by plastics, China has issued an upgraded version of the "plastic restriction order", once again clarifying the timetable: by 2020, it will be the first to ban, restrict the production, sales, and use of some plastic products in certain regions and fields; In 2022, the consumption of disposable plastic products will significantly decrease, and alternative products will be promoted; By 2025, the management system for the production, circulation, consumption, and recycling of plastic products will be basically established, a diversified governance system will be formed, and plastic pollution will be effectively controlled. And make arrangements for the phased target tasks by the end of 2020, clearly prohibiting the production and sale of disposable plastic cotton swabs, disposable foam plastic tableware, and prohibiting non degradable plastic bags, non degradable plastic tableware, and non degradable plastic straws.
Therefore, given the rapid growth, biodegradability, sustainability, and recyclability of bamboo, bamboo products can be used as a substitute for plastic products.
Industry insiders have proposed that the advantages of replacing plastic with bamboo are reflected in the following points: firstly, bamboo grows very quickly and is a fast-growing plant in the world with a high yield. A Japanese professor recorded that bamboo grew 1.21 meters in 24 hours; Secondly, bamboo has many uses, including clothing, food, housing, and transportation, as well as some unknown and undeveloped bamboo uses. Thirdly, bamboo has almost no waste, from bamboo leaves to bamboo roots, and bamboo waste can also be used as carbon raw material; Fourthly, the current disposal of plastic waste is mainly for landfilling and returning to water bodies, rivers, and oceans, which can cause significant harm to marine life and human health. Plastic poses a threat to the Earth and humanity, and a global ban on plastic has become inevitable. Therefore, it is necessary to replace plastic with bamboo.
The application business opportunity of "replacing plastic with bamboo"
Bamboo is a rapidly growing renewable and environmentally friendly material. Currently, there are over 100 series and tens of thousands of varieties of bamboo products developed, which are expected to become the best alternative to plastic.
Replacing plastic with bamboo "will bring unlimited business opportunities for bamboo products, and bamboo products as substitutes will also bring new growth points for bamboo and wood enterprises. It is understood that bamboo products can replace plastic products in many fields, including daily necessities, packaging, building materials, and automotive materials.
Application case of "replacing plastic with bamboo":
Replace plastic straws with bamboo straws. Bamboo straws are naturally hollow and are usually made from arrow bamboo as raw material and subjected to high-temperature steam carbonization treatment before use. A bamboo shoot can produce around 8 bamboo straws with different diameters.
Bamboo keyboard and mouse replace plastic keyboard and mouse. Previously, bamboo and wood companies have launched bamboo keyboards, bamboo mice, bamboo USB drives, and bamboo monitor casings. The production process of bamboo keyboards requires exquisite craftsmanship, which involves more than 40 processes such as modified bamboo hot pressing, bamboo board flat pressing of keys, carving and coating by carving machines, and assembly with conductive films. Bamboo keyboard, ultimately replacing traditional plastic keyboards with natural bamboo materials for the framework, base plate, and keys of the keyboard.
Bamboo wrapped composite materials are prepared using bamboo strips as the base material and winding technology. This bamboo wrapped pipeline has multiple advantages such as renewable raw materials and biodegradable products, and can replace some plastic building materials in urban water supply systems. In the future, bamboo wrapped composite materials will widely replace high energy consuming and high polluting materials such as steel, cement, and plastics, and are a new industry that promotes sustainable development.
Bamboo eco-friendly tableware replaces disposable plastic tableware. Bamboo eco-friendly tableware is made from bamboo strips, bamboo charcoal, or bamboo fiber as raw materials. Bamboo tableware can be directly used in microwave ovens, ovens, refrigerators, etc., and there is no toxic substance precipitation. After use, this tableware can naturally decompose and be absorbed by the soil. It can also be recycled and crushed for use as fertilizer or made into egg trays and other products.
In addition, there is bamboo fiber reinforced thermoplastic composite material, which is an excellent lightweight raw material with advantages such as lightweight and high strength, suitable for modular design, reducing the number of parts and processes, flexible design, and corrosion resistance. It is a high-quality choice for automotive lightweight materials.
At the same time, the research team led by Zhou Jianbo from the Beijing Forestry Machinery Research Institute of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration has successfully developed two scientific and technological achievements, the first of its kind in China, the "bamboo and wood fork spoon tableware molding technology equipment" and the "bamboo and wood knife fork spoon tableware negative pressure punching technology equipment".
The negative pressure punching technology equipment for bamboo and wood knives, forks, spoons and tableware has developed an ultra-thin automatic feeding and punching bi-directional linkage system for bamboo and wood slices, as well as a negative pressure adsorption positioning system, an up and down reciprocating punching system, and an automatic classification and discharging system. The coordinated operation of each system has achieved a punching efficiency of over 300 sets per minute. The molding technology equipment for bamboo and wood fork spoons tableware innovatively designs a concave convex cavity evenly distributed staggered arrangement and uniform pressure system, breaking through the technical bottleneck of ultra-thin bamboo sheet irregular molding that is prone to cracking, greatly improving the molding processing efficiency and shaping quality of bamboo and wood fork spoons, significantly reducing the scrap rate, with a processing efficiency of up to 126 sets per minute and a product qualification rate of over 95%, achieving standardized and factory production line production of tableware molding.
At present, the series of equipment products have been produced and sold to more than 20 countries and regions including Vietnam, India, the Philippines, Indonesia, Poland, Italy, etc., becoming a landmark product in promoting the development of the "bamboo replacing plastic" industry.
In short, "replacing plastic with bamboo" can alleviate the global plastic pollution problem and bring new benefits to bamboo and wood enterprises, driving the development of the bamboo industry.