Why is bamboo generally considered “green”?
Significant aspects of the “greenness” of a product revolve around the whether the product is derived in a sustainable» fashion and the renewability» of the given product.
Bamboo scores top points in these two categories for the following reasons:
- Bamboo is the fastest growing plant on earth. This fast growth means it sequesters more carbon than slower-growing trees. It takes only 5 years for a Mao-Zhu (Moso) bamboo pole to reach the maturity required for use in flooring and board manufacturing. For this reason, Bamboo is considered a rapidly renewable and sustainable resource.
- Bamboo has a rhizome root system, so when a bamboo tree is harvested (at maturity) it is actually a good thing for the plant – and the real big bonus – the root system just sends up another shoot in it’s place. There is therefore no need to replant a harvested tree.
These attributes make it a top class sustainable and rapidly renewable resource.
What are the arguments against bamboo being considered “green”?
The biggest criticisms against bamboo’s popular status as a “green” resource are centered around a few primary issues;
- Harvesting is performed in an unsustainable manner.
- Since production is largely from natural forests, demand has outstripped the annual incremental production capacity of the forests. This has resulted in issues such as replacing natural forests with bamboo plantations, thus creating a monoculture. It has also resulted in the use of fertilizers and pesticides being introduced.
- The distance between the factories & consumer markets.
- The amount of energy required to process the raw bamboo into a finished product.
We address each of these issues in detail as you work your way through this post. Read on …
