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+ {"source_url": "http://jamaica-gleaner.com", "url": "http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/lead-stories/20191231/future-bamboo-jamaicans-encouraged-go-green-multiuse-wonder-plant", "title": "The future is bamboo - Jamaicans encouraged to go green with multiuse wonder plant", "top_image": "http://jamaica-gleaner.com/sites/default/files/styles/250px/public/media/article_images/2019/12/31/641068/3072866.jpg?itok=ppX-sYyz", "meta_img": "http://jamaica-gleaner.com/sites/default/files/styles/250px/public/media/article_images/2019/12/31/641068/3072866.jpg?itok=ppX-sYyz", "images": ["http://jamaica-gleaner.com/sites/default/files/styles/250px/public/media/article_images/2019/12/31/641068/3072866.jpg?itok=ppX-sYyz", "http://jamaica-gleaner.com/sites/default/files/styles/jg_article_image/public/media/article_images/2019/12/31/641068/3072866.jpg?itok=BDSPX4VJ", "http://jamaica-gleaner.com/sites/all/themes/gleaner/logo.png"], "movies": [], "text": "Bamboo is being heralded as the perfect alternative to plastic and styrofoam products as Jamaica moves into a new phase on bans against materials that are largely considered to be harmful to the environment.\n\n\u201cWe are encouraging Jamaicans to grow bamboo because we help, as a small island nation, by doing that to clean up the environment,\u201d said Bureau of Standards Jamaica (BSJ) Director of Special Projects Gladstone Rose in making his pitch for more Jamaicans to consider planting bamboo.\n\n\u201cNow, cutting trees is unfriendly because a tree takes 30-40 years to grow. The bamboo matures in three years and so we say to Jamaicans, don\u2019t cut our trees, use bamboo,\u201d Rose added, seeking to also woo manufacturers.\n\nRose said the bamboo plant can make a viable eco-friendly alternative to styrofoam and plastic products.\n\n\u201cBamboo makes a biodegradable plate and packaging and this is being internationally marketed,\u201d he said, adding that Jamaica is a member state of the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR).\n\n\u201cBecause we are a member of the international network, right now, two companies are seeking to invest in Jamaica,\u201d he said.\n\nCaribbean Bamboo Pulp and Paper and Eco Pulp and Paper will be making the pulp, which other companies will purchase and convert to diapers and toilet paper.\n\n\u201cThe alternatives have been damaging for the environment, so we are hoping that with the biodegradable nature of bamboo, we are then helping to mitigate climate change,\u201d he said.\n\nBAMBOO CHARCOAL\n\nA lesser-known wonder of the bamboo plant, which is estimated to cover 65,000 hectares locally, lies in its potential to be a viable substitute for traditional charcoal, which is being used by roughly 34,000 local households.\n\n\u201cWe have helped develop that product internationally. Jamaica was the first country to export bamboo charcoal to the United States and certified by the United States Development of Agriculture, and I believe we are still the only ones that export organic bamboo charcoal,\u201d he said.\n\nWhile admitting that Jamaicans have not yet been educated on the potential of the more environmentally friendly bamboo charcoal, Rose said that the cost difference is not significant.\n\nBamboo charcoal costs a little more but \u201cthe real cost to the environment means that the tree charcoal is really more expensive because you\u2019re cutting down trees that take long to grow\u201d.\n\nDirector of the Science and Technology Division, Dwight Ramdon, told Gleaner editors and reporters that bamboo can grow virtually anywhere.\n\n\u201cIt is one of the most durable plants and some farmers have difficulty getting rid of them,\u201d Ramdon said.\n\nRose agreed that bamboo can become invasive, but internationally, where bamboo is being managed, it only grows where farmers want it to grow.\n\n\u201cOur yam farmers use the bamboo as yam sticks. They do it all over the country, and so it takes on this invasive characteristic because they are not managing for bamboo, they\u2019re managing their yam, and then they abandon acre after acre, so it appears to take over,\u201d Rose explained.\n\nFURNITURE, SOUVENIRS\n\nRose explained that bamboo souvenirs made without proper preservation techniques often give the plant a bad name.\n\n\u201cThe bamboo has a powder post beetle that can attack the bamboo after you cut it, so if you don\u2019t get the knowledge that we have at the Bureau on how to preserve your bamboo, and you just go and use it and knock it together to make a little hut or a bench, in four months, it can go to dust,\u201d Rose said.\n\nHe said that if properly treated, bamboo furniture can have a lifespan similar to wood and some of these techniques are shared by the BSJ\u2019s Bamboo Enterprise Development Programme in its monthly sessions to train people to use bamboo to produce furniture and other products.\n\nAngelica Dempster, a 22-year-old university student, began making bamboo straws shortly after plastic straws, so-called \u2018scandal\u2019 bags and the importation of styrofoam containers were banned on January 1 this year.\n\n\u201cThe Bureau of Standards helped me in perfecting my product. They ensure that they are clean, there\u2019s no bacteria, and they test them [for cold and heat endurance],\u201d she said.\n\nIn addition to bamboo straws, The Likkle Bamboo Hut produces coconut bowls, bamboo cups, and bamboo utensils.\n\n\u201cI am trying to make bamboo wine using bamboo shoots and I am going to use the bamboo leaves for the beer. I exported 1,000 straws to Spain and I got a good feedback from them. Hotels and little caf\u00e9s in Spain have been contacting me for straws,\u201d Dempster said.\n\nAs it relates to the local take-up, Dempster has contracts with a few companies in Kingston and Negril and she also does individual orders.\n\njudana.murphy@gleanerjm.com", "keywords": [], "meta_keywords": [""], "tags": [], "authors": ["Judana Murphy Gleaner Writer"], "publish_date": "Tue Dec 31 00:00:00 2019", "summary": "", "article_html": "", "meta_description": "Bamboo is being heralded as the perfect alternative to plastic and styrofoam products as Jamaica moves into a new phase on bans against materials that are largely considered to be harmful to the environment. \u201cWe are encouraging Jamaicans to grow...", "meta_lang": "en", "meta_favicon": "http://jamaica-gleaner.com/sites/all/themes/gleaner/favicon.ico", "meta_data": {"viewport": "width=device-width, initial-scale=1, maximum-scale=3, minimum-scale=1, user-scalable=yes", "description": "Bamboo is being heralded as the perfect alternative to plastic and styrofoam products as Jamaica moves into a new phase on bans against materials that are largely considered to be harmful to the environment. \u201cWe are encouraging Jamaicans to grow...", "generator": "Drupal 7 (http://drupal.org)", "og": {"title": "The future is bamboo - Jamaicans encouraged to go green with multiuse wonder plant", "description": "Bamboo is being heralded as the perfect alternative to plastic and styrofoam products as Jamaica moves into a new phase on bans against materials that are largely considered to be harmful to the environment. \u201cWe are encouraging Jamaicans to grow...", "updated_time": "2019-12-31T00:23:40-05:00", "image": "http://jamaica-gleaner.com/sites/default/files/styles/250px/public/media/article_images/2019/12/31/641068/3072866.jpg?itok=ppX-sYyz"}, "twitter": {"card": "summary_large_image", "title": "The future is bamboo - Jamaicans encouraged to go green with multiuse wonder plant", "description": "Bamboo is being heralded as the perfect alternative to plastic and styrofoam products as Jamaica moves into a new phase on bans against materials that are largely considered to be harmful to the environment. \u201cWe are encouraging Jamaicans to grow..."}, "article": {"published_time": "2019-12-31T00:23:40-05:00", "modified_time": "2019-12-31T00:23:40-05:00"}}, "canonical_link": "http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/lead-stories/20191231/future-bamboo-jamaicans-encouraged-go-green-multiuse-wonder-plant"}