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What if… we replaced metals and plastics with bamboo?

    Home Sustainable What if… we replaced metals and plastics with bamboo?
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    bamboo keyboard and mouse

    What if… we replaced metals and plastics with bamboo?

    By June Yu | Sustainable | 0 comment | 20 July, 2018 | 0

    On a recent trip to Cairns (oh so sunny), I spotted a bamboo keyboard and mouse. As a writer who likes things made from natural fibres, I was very tempted to buy. I picked up the mouse. It had a cool, timber-like feel. No wires.

    I didn’t end up purchasing but it got me thinking. The outer shells of my keyboard and mouse at home are made from some kind of plastic. So are many other items in our house. But what if we replaced a lot of these materials with bamboo, touted as one of the most sustainable materials in the world? {Go forth and read more}

    A few possibilities:

    Laptops, computers, phones (and other office devices) – These are the most obvious. How cool would it be to have an office set-up with your working tools made of bamboo? Computer with a natural bamboo shell instead of those ugly black plastics. Fingers tapping away in contact with one of earth’s natural products. Taking a call from a bamboo device that feels neutral instead of a cold metallic surface in your hand. Watching your documents roll out from your bamboo laser printer. Making one’s office environment look more nature rather than manufacture. (Of course, the biggest barrier would be solving the fire hazard problem since so many of these devices get very hot.)

    Travel cups – So many people on the go with bottles and travel cups in hand, many made of plastic. What if we could replace them with bamboo? This is not a new idea. The bamboo coffee cup already exists from companies like Ecoffee Cup, Eco SouLife and Pukka. (I am not recommending any of these cups, just noting that they exist.)

    Music stands – Every music stand I’ve ever seen has been made from some kind of metal such as steel, possibly powder coated black. I’d love to replace the one we have with something like what this guy made here.

    I also asked my child what toys she thought could be replaced with bamboo. Here was her list:

    Shopkins – You know those tiny, rubbery, plasticky cupcake and strawberry little collectibles with faces that so many little girls seem to love? Although my own girl says bamboo versions won’t be as fun because they won’t be as squishy or colourful. I pointed out you can paint bamboo.

    Lego – OMG! I love Lego (although I don’t love stepping on them). Imagine Princess Lego or Star Wars Lego in bamboo. Or Duplo in bamboo. That would be a LOT less plastic in the bedrooms and playrooms of little kids (and big kids) all over the world. (Updated to add: And Lego is now making sustainable bricks out of sugarcane.)

    Teenie Genies – Another highly plastic toy my child has recently become enamoured with.

    (My child also expressed a health and safety concern – that babies chewing on bamboo toys could hurt their teeth!)

    Notice that all these toys are of the collectible kind? That’s an awful lot of toys that end up in landfill and will probably never break down once they’ve gone through the rounds of being handed down.

    Of course, we’re seeing a lot more bamboo products on the market these days, especially in the fashion industry.

    What if question! What items around your own home would you like to see replaced with bamboo? Let me know in the comments below!

    bamboo, sustainable

    June Yu

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