"Replacing plastic with bamboo" - innovative plastic replacement with Chinese wisdom

"Bamboo instead of plastic", okay?

Over the years, the discussion about "replacing plastic with bamboo" has never stopped. Some people point out that this is an important measure to deal with the current plastic pollution, but some people are skeptical and wait-and-see about the feasibility of "replacing plastic with bamboo".

Plastic is one of humanity's greatest inventions, but now it is becoming one of humanity's biggest troubles, and the search for more plastic alternatives is becoming more urgent. "Replacing plastic with bamboo" is an innovative alternative plastic with Chinese wisdom.

Not long ago, the National Development and Reform Commission and other departments jointly issued the "Three-year Action Plan for Accelerating the Development of "Bamboo instead of Plastic" (hereinafter referred to as the Three-Year Action Plan), which deployed seven major actions in a targeted manner, clarified the timetable and roadmap of "bamboo instead of plastic", and further accelerated the development of "bamboo instead of plastic".

Advocating "bamboo instead of plastic"

"Replacing plastic with bamboo", as the name suggests, is to replace plastic with bamboo.

In fact, as an important basic material, plastic has been widely used in all aspects of economic and social production and life due to its excellent performance and low cost, and has brought many conveniences to people. In other words, what are the "disadvantages" of plastic, so that we want to replace it.

Because of "omnipotent", because of cheapness, because of convenience, people are accustomed to "use and throw away". Data shows that the annual production of plastic in the world exceeds 430 million tons, of which two-thirds of plastic products are used for a short period of time and will soon become waste. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), in 2019, about 350 million tonnes of plastic waste was generated globally. Of these, 45% are landfilled, 22% are discarded on land or sea, 17% are incinerated and only 9% are reused.

According to the 2021 report "From Pollution to Solution: Global Assessment of Marine Litter and Plastic Pollution" released by the United Nations Environment Programme, plastic accounts for the largest proportion of marine litter, the most harmful and the longest-lasting, accounting for at least 85% of all marine litter. Currently, there are an estimated 75 million to 199 million tonnes of plastic waste in the ocean. Without effective action, between 23 million and 37 million tonnes of plastic waste could end up in aquatic ecosystems each year by 2040, equivalent to 50 kilograms of plastic waste for every 1 metre of coastline globally.

Plastic waste has posed a serious threat to the earth's ecology and human health. To control plastic pollution, on the one hand, we must recycle waste plastics, and on the other hand, we must reduce the use of plastic from the source and find alternatives to plastics. In 2020, China issued the "Opinions on Further Strengthening the Control of Plastic Pollution" to encourage the reduction of plastic consumption and promote alternative products of biodegradable plastics. As a green, low-carbon, fast-growing, and degradable biomass material, bamboo can replace plastic products in many fields.

"Promoting 'bamboo instead of plastic' can reduce the generation of plastic waste at the source, which is not only an effective way to strengthen the whole chain of plastic pollution in China, but also provides a solution for global plastic pollution control. Niu Bo, deputy director of the Department of Resource Conservation and Environmental Protection of the National Development and Reform Commission, said that from a domestic point of view, although the situation of large-scale leakage of plastic waste into the natural environment has been effectively curbed, there are still some problems in disposable plastic shopping bags, agricultural films, takeaways, express delivery and other fields. From an international perspective, the problem of plastic pollution has received widespread attention from the international community, and countries around the world are looking for a way to control plastic pollution that takes into account environmental governance and economic development.

Wang Ge, a researcher at the International Center for Bamboo and Rattan at the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, said in an interview with Environmental Economics that bamboo is a sustainable and high-quality plastic-substitute option based on nature, and it is a renewable and degradable biomass material that grows fast and can be used sustainably at one time, which will not only replace plastics, but also play an important role in achieving carbon peak and carbon neutrality.

It is estimated that China's bamboo forests can reduce carbon emissions by 197 million tons and sequester 105 million tons of carbon every year, and the carbon emissions from processing 1 ton of bamboo are 30 kilograms, which are 1/216 of steel, 1/220 of aluminum, 1/41 of cement, and 1/19 of plastic. Bamboo has a strong carbon sequestration capacity and is an important way to sink carbon in forestry. Bamboo and wood products and buildings processed from bamboo and wood can sequester carbon for decades or hundreds of years.

Chen Zhenliang, director of the Institute of Ecological Civilization and the Institute of Ecological Governance of the Institute of Carbon Neutrality of Zhejiang A&F University, a new key professional think tank in Zhejiang Province, said in an interview with Environmental Economy: "From the perspective of the rule of law, the 'bamboo instead of plastic' is in line with the eco-environment-oriented development model and the value realization mechanism of ecological products, which is not only in line with the Notice of the General Office of the State Council on Restricting the Production, Sales and Use of Plastic Shopping Bags, the Opinions on Further Strengthening the Control of Plastic Pollution, and the Opinions on Accelerating the Innovation and Development of the Bamboo Industry" and other national policy requirements, and comply with the requirements of laws, regulations and rules such as the Environmental Protection Law, the Circular Economy Promotion Law, the Cleaner Production Law, the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Law, and the Administrative Measures for Carbon Emission Trading (Trial). ”

However, it should be emphasized that the promotion of "bamboo instead of plastic" does not mean that bamboo is used to completely replace plastic. Yu Wenji, chief scientist of the Chinese Academy of Forestry and president of the National Bamboo Industry Research Institute, said in an interview with the media: "Bamboo cannot completely replace plastic, and if it can replace 10%, the scale of output value will be incredible." ”

From initiative to implementation

In fact, before the issuance of the three-year action plan, the initiative of "replacing plastic with bamboo" was officially proposed.

In June 2022, item 18 of the Outcome List of the High-level Dialogue on Global Development proposed that China and INBAR would jointly launch the "Bamboo instead of Plastic" initiative to reduce plastic pollution and combat climate change.

Five months later, President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to INBAR on the occasion of its 25th anniversary and the 2nd World Bamboo and Rattan Congress, and pointed out that the Chinese government and INBAR have joined hands to implement the Global Development Initiative (GDI) and jointly launched the 'Bamboo instead of Plastic' initiative to promote countries to reduce plastic pollution, address climate change, and accelerate the implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Wang Ge recalled to reporters.

So, since the first year of the "bamboo instead of plastic" initiative, what progress has China made in this field?

In terms of top-level design, internationally, the Chinese government and INBAR have formulated the Global Action Plan (2023-2030) on Replacing Plastic with Bamboo, proposing 6 goals and 23 specific actions. Domestically, the National Development and Reform Commission and other departments jointly issued a three-year action plan.

Wang Ge analysis pointed out: "The two documents are issued in the context of 'bamboo instead of plastic', both have their own focus, the object and scope are different, but the goal and purpose are the same, play the role of bamboo in plastic reduction, and promote the development of 'bamboo instead of plastic' industry and the wide use of 'bamboo instead of plastic' products." ”

In terms of scientific and technological research, the National Forestry and Grassland Administration and the Ministry of Science and Technology have included "bamboo instead of plastic" in the 2023 "unveiling and leading" list of the National Key R&D Plan, and the project of "Development and Application of Key Technologies for the Processing of Bamboo-based Plastic Products" has passed the review, and the project of "Research and Demonstration of Major Key Technology Innovation of Bamboo instead of Plastic" has been planned, designed and demonstrated. The International Center for Bamboo and Rattan of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration is actively preparing to establish the National Key Laboratory of Bamboo instead of Plastics, the National Innovation Research Institute of Bamboo instead of Plastics, and the National Innovation Alliance of Bamboo instead of Plastics, striving to build a source of scientific and technological innovation, an incubator for the transformation of achievements, a gathering area for high-end talents and a large platform for international cooperation, and build a full-chain collaborative innovation mechanism and a high-quality development system for the bamboo industry, so as to enhance the overall innovation ability and comprehensive competitiveness.

At the same time, INBAR launched the "Research and Demonstration of Key Technologies for Bamboo Instead of Plastics in Pilot Member Countries" project, and six of the 50 member countries were selected to carry out pilot projects: Thailand, Vietnam, Ethiopia, Cameroon, Ecuador and Brazil. The implementation of the project will fill the gap in the research and development of "bamboo instead of plastic" products in member countries, improve the selection and cultivation technology of bamboo forests, and play a vital role in enhancing the capacity building and industrial development of "bamboo instead of plastic" in member countries.

In terms of industrial development, governments at all levels in China's major bamboo producing areas have combined with the actual situation of the local bamboo industry, made overall plans, adjusted the structure, and introduced a number of policies and measures with strong pertinence and high gold content to promote the rapid development of the "bamboo instead of plastic" industry.

At the provincial level, for example, Sichuan Province issued the "Three-Year Action Plan for the Improvement of the Bamboo Industry in Sichuan Province (2023-2025)", and Fujian Province issued the "Action Plan for Accelerating the High-quality Development of the Bamboo Industry in Fujian Province (2023-2025)", both provinces have put forward the goal of "the total output value of the bamboo industry will be 120 billion yuan by 2025".

At the city and county level, for example, Nanping City, Fujian Province issued the "Implementation Plan for Nanping City to Promote the Construction of "Bamboo instead of Plastic" Demonstration City (Trial)", which clearly promotes the application of "bamboo instead of plastic", "bamboo instead of wood" and "bamboo instead of steel" products in the city's party and government organs, state-owned enterprises and institutions. Anji County, Zhejiang Province issued the "Implementation Opinions on Encouraging the Use of Bamboo instead of Plastic to Accelerate the Innovative Application and Promotion of Bamboo Products in Anji County", encouraging the use of bamboo products instead of plastic products in key industries such as administration, accommodation and catering, life services, and cultural tourism, and formulating the "Anji County "Bamboo instead of Plastic" Application Promotion Award and Subsidy Measures (revised in 2023), and the county-level financial department arranged 3 million yuan of special funds for the promotion of bamboo products.

In terms of international cooperation, China has actively participated in the global top-level design process of plastic prevention and control and substitution policies, promoted the integration of the "bamboo instead of plastic" initiative into the policy system at different levels at the international, regional and national levels, promoted the synergy between the initiative and relevant international agendas, and built consensus on bamboo as a solution to plastic pollution. Support INBAR to participate in the negotiations of the International Convention on Plastic Pollution, and introduce the relevant content of the "Bamboo instead of Plastic" initiative at the working meeting of the World Trade Organization's "Informal Dialogue on Plastic Pollution and Environmentally Sustainable Plastics Trade".

In terms of green consumption, in order to guide the public's understanding of the great significance of "bamboo instead of plastic" and the experience of "bamboo instead of plastic" product consumption, national ministries and local governments have organized a series of publicity and promotion activities to actively promote the construction of application demonstration bases, which not only promotes the popularization and promotion and application of "bamboo instead of plastic" products, but also builds an exchange and cooperation platform to promote the development of "bamboo instead of plastic" industry.

It needs the blessing of "black technology".

Bamboo, a member of the Poaceae family, grows for 3 to 5 years and reaches maturity, and a well-managed bamboo forest can be harvested and used repeatedly over the next 40 to 70 years. There are 1,642 species of bamboo plants in the world, and China alone has 857 species. In 2021, China's bamboo forest area was 7,562,700 hectares, with an annual output of about 150 million tons of bamboo, involving 20 provinces. The abundant bamboo forest resources provide a strong factor guarantee for the realization of "replacing plastic with bamboo".

Wang Ge told reporters that bamboo has high strength, high hardness, good toughness, good fiber properties, natural texture, beautiful color and other advantages, in disposable tableware, straws, packaging products, building materials, electrical shell products, automotive interior parts and some industrial and agricultural products can completely replace some plastic products, to meet the needs of plastic reduction and limiting.

"At present, the application scenarios of 'bamboo instead of plastic' are mainly in three fields. Gu Guangtong, director of the Institute of Ecological Civilization and Carbon Neutrality of Zhejiang A&F University, a new key professional think tank in Zhejiang Province, said in an interview with "Environmental Economy" that in the field of daily use, such as children's toys, kitchen tableware, cosmetics packaging, etc., bamboo products can meet people's pursuit of a green lifestyle. In the field of industrial production, such as industrial packaging materials, parts, etc., bamboo products can replace traditional plastic products, which can reduce environmental pollution. In the field of building materials, such as flooring, wall panels, partitions, etc., bamboo products have a certain strength and durability, and also meet the requirements of green building materials.

Nowadays, more and more "bamboo instead of plastic" products appear in our daily life. From bamboo stationery, disposable bamboo tableware, bamboo degradable bags, to house building materials and carriage floors, bamboo products are no longer "works of art".

On October 31, 2023, the 16th China Yiwu International Forest Products Expo held in Yiwu, Zhejiang, set up the first "bamboo instead of plastic" exhibition area, attracting more than 100 enterprises to participate in the exhibition, focusing on the latest, most complete and hottest products and technologies in this field, which is dazzling.

Taking bamboo keyboards as an example, the technical director of a bamboo products company in Jiangxi recalled that they produced a half-bamboo and half-plastic keyboard as early as 2006. At that time, only the frame was bamboo, and the keycaps were still plastic, not a bamboo keyboard in the full sense. To produce an all-bamboo keyboard, it is necessary to replace the keycaps with bamboo.

Don't look at the small keycaps, it's not easy to replace them all with bamboo. A bamboo strip is cut, arced, chamfered, drilled, and then loaded into the keyboard frame, after the arrangement can not affect the use, the finished bamboo keyboard should be resistant to falling, which is a great test of the company's R & D and technical capabilities.

In an interview with the media, the relevant person in charge of the enterprise said that they have opened up the overseas market with the brand-new all-bamboo keyboard, and the export has reached 100 million yuan. Today, they have also designed more than 80 varieties of bamboo products in ten series, such as bamboo mice, bamboo calculators, and bamboo speakers, which sell well in Europe, the United States, Canada, South Korea and other places.

Not only used in the field of life, bamboo can also become a "great tool of the country".

At the 2023 China International Fair for Trade in Services, a company moved a megacity pipe gallery with a diameter of 5 meters to its booth and earned enough eyeballs.

"Our main material is bamboo, which is the world's first bio-grade pipe, and the main advantages are light weight, strong resistance to deformation and renewable resources. The relevant person in charge of the exhibitor said that unlike the traditional reinforced cement pipeline, this bamboo winding composite pipe gallery is made of deep processing of bamboo materials, using winding technology, with green and low-carbon, high construction efficiency and other characteristics, service life of up to 50 years, has been gradually applied to the pipeline construction in many cities in China.

Bamboo can also be used in generator cooling towers. Lu Wenming, deputy director-general of INBAR, said that the packing inside the cooling tower of the generator used to be plastic, but now it can also be made of bamboo. Bamboo costs 50% more than plastic, but it has a lifespan of 4 times longer than plastic. Generally speaking, in a 10-year life cycle, plastic should be replaced 4 times, but bamboo should be replaced 1 time. The cost of 1 change is high, and the cost of 4 times is relatively low. The most important thing is that plastic cannot generate electricity for 1 month if it is changed once, 10 years is 4 months for 4 months, and bamboo can not generate electricity for only 1 month. This works best in "bamboo instead of plastic" products.

Wang Yixiang, director of the Institute of Ecological Civilization and Carbon Neutrality Research Institute of Zhejiang A&F University, said in an interview with "Environmental Economy" that in order for bamboo to truly play a role in replacing plastics, it is necessary to achieve high added value of bamboo products, and there must be more "black technology" blessings, which is the way to the future development of "bamboo instead of plastic".

Implement a three-year action plan

With low-carbon environmental protection and industrial development on the one hand, the development of "bamboo instead of plastic" has broad prospects and great potential, but it also faces many challenges.

"For example, the harvesting method of bamboo resources is relatively backward, the bamboo cultivation mode, harvesting methods and machinery and equipment are not matched; the processing automation level of the main bamboo products is low and the scale is small; the innovation ability of enterprises is weak, and there are few high value-added products that reflect the advantages of bamboo characteristics; the economic, social and ecological value of the products are not clear, and the scientific analysis and evaluation are less; the growth of the market demand and consumer awareness of the products are not strong. Wang Ge told reporters.

Niu Bo said that in order to further promote the development of "bamboo instead of plastic" and focus on the current "bamboo instead of plastic" industry scale is small, low output, high cost, relatively backward technology and equipment, etc., the three-year action plan has deployed seven major actions in a targeted manner.

In view of the relatively lagging problems in the innovation breakthrough and technology transformation of the bamboo industry, the three-year action plan proposes to strengthen the support of scientific and technological innovation, organize scientific research related to "bamboo instead of plastic", break through a number of key common technologies and major equipment, strengthen the in-depth research and development of "bamboo instead of plastic" products, optimize the product production process, improve the mechanization level of bamboo forest felling, transportation and processing, and enrich the new technologies and new products of "bamboo instead of plastic".

In view of the low level of large-scale development of "bamboo instead of plastic", insufficient intensive management, and insufficient coordination of the industrial chain, the three-year action plan proposes to encourage major bamboo producing areas to expand the upstream, midstream and downstream industrial chain of "raw materials-processing-product-marketing" according to local conditions, cultivate a number of leading enterprises, accelerate the large-scale and intensive production of "bamboo instead of plastic" products, encourage the development of circular economy in the bamboo industry, implement the industrial model of bamboo utilization, and strengthen the recycling of bamboo processing waste.

In view of the problems of "bamboo instead of plastic" high-quality commodities and poor sales and promotion channels, the three-year action plan proposes to rely on activities such as the China International Consumer Goods Expo to build a platform for dialogue and exchange, promote government-enterprise cooperation and industry-university interaction, and cultivate a green consumer market for bamboo products.

In view of the low overall proportion of bamboo products replacing plastic products and the unclear substitution scenarios, the three-year action plan proposes to coordinate the development foundation and market demand of "bamboo instead of plastic" products, accurately identify alternative scenarios, carry out substitution actions, improve the proportion of substitution, expand the use of bamboo products in the fields of daily use, cultural tourism, manufacturing, building materials, etc., and explore more practical and easy-to-use alternative scenarios.

In view of the unbalanced development of the "bamboo instead of plastic" area and the lack of obvious demonstration effect, the three-year action plan proposes to select areas with rich bamboo resources and a good bamboo industry foundation in the country to build 5~10 "bamboo instead of plastic" application and promotion bases, and give priority to local key areas to explore the "bamboo instead of plastic" products with good substitution effect, great market potential and easy public acceptance, so as to form an advanced model that can be replicated and promoted.

In view of the problems such as the lack of widespread popularity of the concept of "bamboo instead of plastic" and the lack of deep understanding of bamboo products by consumers, the three-year action plan proposes to use a variety of means to widely publicize the excellent characteristics of "bamboo instead of plastic" products, popularize the knowledge of environmental pollution risks caused by the non-standard use of plastic products, and guide the public to form a habit of reducing the consumption of disposable plastic products and purchasing "bamboo instead of plastic" products.

In view of the lack of international influence of "bamboo instead of plastic", the three-year action plan proposes to join hands with the International Bamboo and Rattan Organization to encourage and support Chinese enterprises to go global, relying on the advantages of technology, equipment, technology and talents, to support the development of the "bamboo instead of plastic" industry in countries with relatively rich bamboo resources, research and development and production of corresponding "bamboo instead of plastic" products, the creation of international brands, and the promotion of international production capacity cooperation.

According to the three-year action plan, by 2025, the "bamboo instead of plastic" industrial system will be initially established, the product quality, product variety, industrial scale, and comprehensive benefits will be further improved, and the market share of key products will be significantly increased. Compared with 2022, the comprehensive added value of the main products of "bamboo instead of plastic" will increase by more than 20%, and the comprehensive utilization rate of bamboo will increase by 20 percentage points.

In Niu Bo's view, to achieve this goal, the whole society needs to work together. The competent departments need to divide labor and cooperate to accelerate the improvement of laws and regulations, support policies, standard certification and other systems that are conducive to promoting "bamboo instead of plastic". Local governments should actively promote "bamboo instead of plastic" products, and places with conditions should create "bamboo instead of plastic" application and promotion bases, and summarize the experience model that can be replicated and promoted. Leading enterprises should strengthen the research and development of related products and advanced technology and equipment, and constantly enrich the new technologies, new products and new scenarios of "replacing plastic with bamboo". Industry associations should give full play to the role of bridges, actively carry out investigation and research, brand evaluation, standard formulation and other activities, and guide "bamboo instead of plastic" enterprises to make good use of various national policies and measures. Guided by the Belt and Road Initiative, international organizations encourage and support Chinese enterprises to go global. Consumers should actively participate in the initiative to say "no" to plastic products that do not meet the relevant national regulations, and form a habit of reducing the consumption of disposable plastic products.