Compostable plates made from banana leaves Posted by Imogen Searra on 6 November 2019 A Peruvian company has made biodegradable dishes out of banana leaves called Bio Plant. An ingenious alternative to single-use plastic, this invention will help to reduce plastic waste from inevitably polluting the air and oceans. According to Intelligent Living, the Bio Plant dishes naturally decompose within two months. Containers, dishes and other packaging made from styrofoam take up to 500 years. Bio Plant gets leaves from banana farmers, as the leaves naturally fall off when pickers remove bananas from a tree. Image: Chuwa Plant Facebook Bio Plant is the brain child of Chuwa Plant Group. The group have made dishes with paper and cardboard cellulose in the past. Their products, including the banana leaf dishes are heat resistant and can be used for liquid food like soups and broths. The leader of the Bio Plant project, Josué Soto, explained to Intelligent Living that the group are working closely with small producers in the Peruvian Amazon. In addition to payment, the group are offering farmers technical training to help profit from most of the banana cultivation process, rather than making a loss. Other products made by Chuwa Plant. Image: Facebook Biodegradable cutlery is also available. Image: Facebook The world’s dependency on plastic is archaic. With an abundance of alternative, biodegradable options on the market there really is no excuse or place for single-use plastics anymore. We all have the power to make a real change to our plastic waste output, which will only be beneficial to us and the planet. Landfills in South Africa have been declared a ‘ticking timebomb’ and The Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) says 98-million tonnes of waste is deposited across South Africa’s 826 landfill sites every year. If you’re looking to support a local grocer, café or eatery in South Africa that is practicing a zero-waste ethos, click here for a list of options for you to shop at. You may also like Related Posts Solar-powered desalination plant changes lives in Kenya 27 November 2019 NGO GivePower has installed and is running a large-scale desalination plant in the village of... read more The Coral Gardeners are saving the ocean 18 November 2019 It is imperative to protect and restore these vital organisms in order to sustain human... read more Scientists find more plastic than fish in ocean feeding ground 13 November 2019 A group of researchers led by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration made a harrowing discovery... read more PREV ARTICLE NEXT ARTICLE
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