Discovering the wonderful properties of bamboo, a herbaceous plant that is a valuable ally against the greenhouse effect, and more.
What is bamboo?
You have probably already heard of bamboo, or seen it in some film set in eastern countries, China and Japan among them.
This extraordinary evergreen plant, or rather ‘herb’, has numerous beneficial properties that can be exploited in many fields by virtue of its versatility.
So-called ‘green steel’ is also fire-retardant and water-repellent, giving the same characteristics to goods made from it. Nevertheless, bamboo has the ability to retain water, contributing to a significant decrease in soil erosion.
Areas of use
Let’s quickly list the main areas in which bamboo is used:
- environmental
- culinary
- construction
- objects
- furniture
The usefulness of bamboo to the environment is obvious, considering that the carbon dioxide (CO2) it absorbs is 36 times greater than that captured by a common forest. To give you a figure, 100 hectares of bamboo neutralise about 27,500 tonnes of CO2.
Not to mention the strength and lightness that make it suitable for various processes such as flooring, clothing, or even toothbrushes and bicycles. In short, it is the eco-friendly material par excellence, capable of a life cycle of around 100 years.
Period of development and usefulness
But how long does bamboo take to grow? There are more than 1000 species in the world, but undoubtedly the most cultivated is the Moso (giant bamboo) which takes about 10 years to produce its first saleable canes and then new ones every year for the next century.
This makes it an excellent replenisher of biodiversity and degraded soils, particularly those subjected to massive deforestation in recent decades. Suffice it to say that, since the 1990s, hectares of forest equal to the size of the EU have been lost.
In this regard, a recent European law required companies to verify that the products they sell have not contributed to deforestation anywhere in the world, under penalty of a penalty of up to 4% of the EU’s total annual turnover.
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