On February 10, workers at Fenghui Bamboo and Wood Products Company in Meixi Town, Anji County, Huzhou City, Zhejiang Province, were producing bamboo tableware. Photo by Xia Pengfei (People's Vision)

On November 10, at the International Conference Center in Yibin City, Sichuan Province, staff from the Yibin International Bamboo Products Trading Center were promoting bamboo-made daily necessities and handicrafts to netizens through online platforms. Photo by Zhuang Geer (People's Vision)

On October 11, workers at Chongqing Ruihai Bamboo Art Co., Ltd. were weaving bamboo antique lanterns in Xinqiao Community, Pingjin Town, Liangping District, Chongqing City. Photo by Liu Hui (People's Vision)

On August 31, employees of Rongjia Crafts Co., Ltd. in Rong'an County, Liuzhou City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, were producing bamboo and wood handicrafts in the workshop. Photo by Li Hanchi (People's Vision)

On November 15, at the Gannan Arboretum in Yangming Lake National Forest Park, Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province, the scenery of lakes and mountains and the sea of bamboo and forests complement each other, creating a picturesque scene. Photo by Zhu Haipeng (People's Vision)

Disposable tableware made of bamboo shoot shells is in short supply in the catering takeaway market; bamboo-wrapped pipe corridors and other bamboo-wrapped products are promoted and applied in some municipal projects; bamboo container bottom plates are waterproof and not easy to break, and are gradually becoming the new favorite of the industry...At the moment of seeking green development together, bamboo, an ancient species, is creating more possibilities to replace plastics because of technological empowerment.

Recently, China and the International Bamboo and Rattan Organization jointly launched the "Bamboo Replaces Plastic" initiative to give full play to the outstanding advantages and role of bamboo in controlling plastic pollution and replacing plastic products, and provide a natural solution for high-energy consumption and difficult-to-degrade plastic products.

From scientific research results to corporate practices, to national actions and global initiatives, China has put forward this good "bamboo" idea, which will make positive contributions to accelerating the implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Experts said that the "Bamboo Replaces Plastic" initiative demonstrates China's responsibility and pragmatic actions in addressing climate change, and will surely have a significant impact on further promoting global green development.

Pollution control is urgent

Everyday plastic waste may seem insignificant, but it is a major issue concerning the global environment.

The assessment report released by the United Nations Environment Programme shows that of the 9 billion tons of plastic products produced worldwide, only 9% are currently recycled, another 12% are incinerated, and the remaining 79% are eventually piled up in landfills or flow into the natural environment.

Controlling plastic pollution is urgent. Practice has shown that finding plastic substitutes is an effective way to reduce plastic use, reduce plastic pollution, and solve the problem from the source.

Yin Gangqiang, Secretary of the Party Committee and Deputy Director of the International Bamboo and Rattan Center of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration, said that China and the International Bamboo and Rattan Organization jointly proposed the "Bamboo Replaces Plastic" initiative based on the increasingly serious threat of plastic pollution to human health.

Reporters learned that the International Bamboo and Rattan Organization is the first intergovernmental international organization headquartered in China and an international organization dedicated to the sustainable development of the bamboo and rattan industry. In the 25 years since its establishment, the number of INBAR member countries has grown from the initial 9 to the current 49, promoting the vigorous development of the world's bamboo and rattan industry.

It is reported that the "Bamboo instead of plastic" initiative proposes that countries formulate support policies for "Bamboo instead of plastic" to provide policy guarantees for the global development of "Bamboo instead of plastic", promote scientific and technological innovation, encourage scientific research, and create conditions for the use of new technologies and development of new products for "Bamboo instead of plastic". Increase public publicity for "Bamboo instead of plastic" and widely publicize the advantages of bamboo in packaging materials, construction projects, daily necessities and other fields through expert forums, exhibition demonstrations, public activities at international, regional and national levels.

There are many materials that can replace plastics, why choose bamboo?

Bamboo slips, fans, bamboo umbrellas... Throughout history, bamboo has often been processed into various utensils. Today's world has also developed and utilized bamboo in all aspects, with diverse and rich products. "At present, more than 10,000 types of bamboo products have been developed, involving all aspects of people's production and life, such as clothing, food, housing, and transportation." Lu Wenming, deputy director general of the International Bamboo and Rattan Organization, said.

"Compared with other biomass materials, bamboo has unique physical and mechanical properties such as high elasticity and toughness, good compressive and tensile resistance along the grain." Yin Gangqiang explained that bamboo can be used from bamboo leaves to bamboo roots, and even bamboo waste can be used as activated carbon. The bamboo products after use will be completely naturally degraded and will not have a harmful impact on the environment.

In addition, bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants in the world. For example, the fastest bamboo grows 1.21 meters every 24 hours, and it can mature in 4 to 5 years. It also produces shoots and grows new bamboo every year, with high yields, and one afforestation can be used sustainably.

Bamboo is widely distributed and has a considerable scale of resources. According to statistics, there are more than 1,600 known bamboo plants in the world, with a bamboo forest area of more than 50 million hectares, mainly distributed in Asia, Africa and America.

It is worth mentioning that bamboo's carbon reduction and carbon fixation capacity is also far superior to that of ordinary trees. "The latest study shows that one hectare of bamboo forest and its bamboo products can fix 300 tons of carbon in 60 years. Under the same conditions, fir forest fixes less than 200 tons of carbon." Luan Junwei, a researcher at the International Bamboo and Rattan Center, introduced that it is roughly estimated that if 600 million tons of bamboo products are used to replace PVC (polyvinyl chloride, a plastic decorative material) products every year in the world, it is expected to reduce 4 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

"Therefore, in the context of actively building a community with a shared future for mankind and vigorously promoting the construction of ecological civilization, China and the International Bamboo and Rattan Organization jointly issued the "Replacing Plastic with Bamboo" initiative, which is very timely and very important. It is a major decision based on reality and facing the future." Yin Gangqiang pointed out.

"China's Smart Manufacturing" Innovation is More Than Just One Bamboo

How big an industry can it leverage? The answer may be beyond imagination.

In recent years, many Chinese companies have been working hard to "intelligently manufacture" bamboo products that can replace plastic products, and actively explore new ways to "replace plastic" with bamboo products.

On November 21, in Chizhou City, Anhui Province, in the production workshop of Anhui Hongye Group, machines roared, and bamboo straws "flowed" continuously from the production line.

"After the implementation of the "plastic ban", a large number of paper straws appeared on the market, but they had problems such as being soft when exposed to water." After learning that bamboo products are scald-proof and durable, Yin Mingliang, chairman of Hongye Group, saw business opportunities: "For bamboo species with a certain wall thickness, such as moso bamboo, through cutting, drawing into cylindrical bamboo sticks, grinding, fixing, drilling, disinfection and other steps, it can be made into bamboo straws of different sizes."

Since 2017, Hongye Group has spent more than 10 million yuan to develop bamboo straw intelligent equipment, intelligent product selection equipment, intelligent polishing machines and other advanced instruments to address the pain points and difficulties of bamboo straw processing, and has obtained a number of patents.

"Now, we can produce about 2.4 million bamboo straws every day." Yin Mingliang told reporters, "In the past, we mainly exported bamboo clips and bamboo chopsticks. In recent years, bamboo straws that conform to the concept of green innovation and development are more popular in overseas markets, and orders are increasing."

Technological innovation turns "bamboo" into gold. Another private enterprise, Minqing Hanghua Wood Industry Co., Ltd., has also achieved many results in the field of bamboo product research and development.

Since 2003, Minqing Hanghua Wood Industry, located in Fuzhou City, Fujian Province, has used bamboo to produce container bottom plates. General Manager Mao Wenbin told reporters that as a high-tech enterprise, the company has invented a total of 38 utility model patents, including container bottom plates based on bamboo-wood composites, container bottom plates with buffer functions, and container bottom plates that can be laid quickly.

"The bottom plate of the container is the main load-bearing structure of the container. Compared with other materials, the bamboo bottom plate has stronger toughness and better pressure resistance, and is suitable for all kinds of containers." Mao Wenbin believes that with the advancement of science and technology, bamboo products have unlimited application possibilities and the bamboo industry has broad development prospects.

Processed bamboo products can even be used as building materials.

At the 2022 China International Fair for Trade in Services, different from the common concrete pipe gallery, the bamboo winding pipe gallery with an inner diameter of 3.6 meters displayed by China Forest Products Group was a feast for the eyes of the audience.

"Due to the limited exhibition area, this product is not the largest specification." Liu Naiming, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of China Forest Products Group, introduced that the maximum diameter of the bamboo winding pipe gallery can reach 8 meters, and each section of the pipe gallery is 12 meters long. "In fact, in addition to the bamboo winding pipe gallery, we have many other types of bamboo winding products."

Bamboo winding products are new composite materials with bamboo as the base material and processed by winding technology. "Because of its advantages of light weight, high tensile strength, corrosion resistance, wind and earthquake resistance, long service life and low cost, it can also be processed into large-diameter composite pipes, pressure pipes, integrated modular houses and other products, which are widely used in transportation, municipal administration, water conservancy, construction and other fields, providing important solutions for biological carbon reduction and carbon fixation." Kong Xiangtao, business manager of the Enterprise Management Department of China Forest Products Group, told reporters.

It is understood that bamboo-wrapped composite pipe products have been deployed and promoted in water supply, drainage, farmland irrigation and other projects in Zhejiang, Xinjiang, Heilongjiang and other places. Among them, the "Bamboo-wrapped Composite Pipe Water Supply Project in Lingang Industrial Park, Junan County, Linyi City, Shandong Province" was selected as a "Typical Case of Key Energy-saving Technology Application" by the Energy Conservation Center of the National Development and Reform Commission.

"The promotion and application of bamboo-wrapped products will greatly reduce the use of plastics and steel, and reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in the production process." Kong Xiangtao said.

Profit from bamboo and benefit the people. Industry insiders analyzed that most of the companies focusing on "replacing plastic with bamboo" are close to bamboo production areas and rooted in rural areas, which provides jobs for the surplus labor force in surrounding villages and towns, broadens the channels for farmers to increase their income and become rich, and effectively promotes rural revitalization.

According to the "Opinions on Accelerating the Innovation and Development of the Bamboo Industry" jointly issued by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, the National Development and Reform Commission and other 10 departments, by 2025, the total output value of China's bamboo industry will exceed 700 billion yuan, the modern bamboo industry system will be basically established, the scale, quality and efficiency of the bamboo industry will be significantly improved, and the development of the bamboo industry will maintain a world-leading position. By 2035, the total output value of China's bamboo industry will exceed 1 trillion yuan, the modern bamboo industry system will be more complete, the beautiful rural bamboo forest landscape will be basically established, the main bamboo products will enter the high end of the global value chain, and China will become a world bamboo industry power.

"Replacing Plastic with Bamboo" Benefits the World

Once the "Replacing Plastic with Bamboo" initiative was proposed, it attracted widespread attention from the international community.

The World Trade Organization recently held a working meeting on "Informal Dialogue on Plastic Pollution and Environmentally Sustainable Plastic Trade" in Geneva, Switzerland, to discuss how to promote the docking and cooperation between the "Plastic Pollution Prevention and Control Initiative" and the "Bamboo Substitute for Plastic" initiative, two initiatives initiated by China.

At the meeting, WTO members such as the United Kingdom, Ecuador and the Philippines responded positively to the "Bamboo Substitute for Plastic" initiative, saying that they would work with China to strengthen cooperation with the International Bamboo and Rattan Organization and actively promote the formulation of international trade policies and international standards that are conducive to "Bamboo Substitute for Plastic" products.

Martin Mbana, representative of the government of the presidency of the International Bamboo and Rattan Organization Council and Cameroon's ambassador to China, said that the "Bamboo Substitute for Plastic" initiative will definitely benefit the world. Thanks to the knowledge and experience of China and the International Bamboo and Rattan Organization, African countries have the opportunity to reduce plastic pollution through South-South cooperation and contribute to global sustainable development.

In fact, as a major bamboo industry country, China has been promoting the advanced technology and experience of the bamboo industry to the world in recent years, doing its best to help developing countries efficiently use bamboo resources, thereby improving their ability to cope with climate change, environmental pollution, extreme poverty and other issues.

Ecuador is rich in bamboo resources. In rural areas, bamboo lofts and bridges can be seen everywhere. In 2018, Ecuador formulated the "Bamboo Strategy 2018-2022" to further cultivate and expand the bamboo industry, and more than 500,000 people have been directly or indirectly integrated into the relevant industrial chain. In order to strengthen relevant cooperation, China has organized four international training courses for Ecuador, covering topics such as bamboo processing, sustainable development of the bamboo industry, and innovative use of bamboo resources in post-disaster reconstruction, and has trained nearly 200 senior officials and technicians.

George Sarbon from Ghana has participated in a training course held in Qingshen County, Meishan City, Sichuan Province, and learned techniques such as three-dimensional bamboo weaving, flat bamboo weaving, and bamboo furniture making. After returning to China, he also became the inheritor of bamboo and rattan handicrafts: "After coming to China, I realized that bamboo can be made into so many products. Over the past few years, I have applied what I learned in China to practice and trained more than 200 craftsmen, all of whom have their own businesses. I hope to pass on knowledge to more young people so that they can acquire livelihood skills." "The initiative of "replacing plastic with bamboo" and applying the entire bamboo product to industry, construction, transportation and other aspects is an important and scientific measure for the future ecological civilization construction of mankind." Yin Weilun, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said that China has rich bamboo resources, and the bamboo forest area, bamboo material output and foreign trade volume of bamboo products are all ranked first in the world. In the future, China's advantages in bamboo resources should be further utilized to weave a low-carbon future with the international community. Although the sales volume of China's "replacing plastic with bamboo" products has grown rapidly, plastic products still have an absolute advantage in daily life, and the market share and recognition of bamboo products are still obviously insufficient. Experts pointed out that high cost is the key factor causing this situation. Take a 25-gram disposable lunch box as an example. Due to the small output and scale, the collection and primary processing of raw materials are not centralized, and the automation of product processing equipment is not high, the cost of bamboo lunch boxes is often higher. In comparison, disposable plastic lunch boxes have the advantages of large-scale and high batch production, and the cost of a lunch box is often 2 to 3 times lower than that of bamboo lunch boxes.

Fei Benhua, director of the International Bamboo and Rattan Center and president of the China Bamboo Industry Association, believes that China's "replacing plastic with bamboo" is still in its infancy. The root cause of the high cost of products is that the technology is not mature enough, and the government is urgently needed to increase policy and financial support. "Scientific research institutions and leading enterprises should be supported to play the role of innovation subjects, increase the research and development of common key technologies, so that the functions of products can be improved, the performance can be stabilized, the cost can be reduced, and the market share can be increased."

Industry insiders suggest that since "replacing plastic with bamboo" has risen to a national action and a global initiative, the top-level design should be improved at the national level as soon as possible. For example, we need to make good plans for the development of the "bamboo instead of plastic" industry, identify key industries and products, promote the establishment of innovative projects, support the research and development of equipment, and increase scientific research and industrialization.

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