Editorial | Bamboo is a welcome alternative to plastic
- Mainland China authorities have launched a three-year action plan to promote the use of bamboo substitutes for fossil fuel-based plastic. They should do whatever it takes to set the world on a faster path to a plastic-free future
Pandas thrive on bamboo, but it may soon help humans live better and more sustainably thanks to a creative project China has initiated to turn the world’s fastest-growing plant into a viable alternative to polluting plastic.
For centuries, the bamboo industry has fashioned what is technically a type of grass into everything from fencing to the scaffolding Hong Kong’s real-life spider-men still scramble across on construction sites today.
More recently, bamboo has been developed into a stand-in for fossil fuel-based plastic, giving rise to biodegradable bags, dinner boxes and straws.
Such products are being made by more than 100 bamboo companies in Anhui, a county in eastern Zhejiang province that is pioneering such efforts.
Authorities are now making good on their repeated promise to go green while fuelling economic growth, launching a three-year action plan to promote the use of bamboo substitutes.
The plan announced on November 7 aims to build an industrial system for developing bamboo resources, deep processing of materials derived from the plants and expanding their use.