A group of
young Peruvians has launched a project called ‘Bio Plant’ in order to help the
world use less plastic. They have created biodegradable dishes made of banana
leaves to reduce environmental pollution caused by excessive disposal of
plastic. Every banana leaf plate used instead of a plastic one is one less item
polluting our planet!
This
innovative product can decompose within 2 months – it’s completely degraded
naturally before the 60 days are up. Those commonly used plates and containers
made of polystyrene (styrofoam) on the other hand take up to 500 years, causing
untold amounts of damage to the flora and fauna of the oceans and wildlife on
land.
With the
co-financing of the Innóvate Peru Program (through the Bio Challenge contest
aimed at supporting the development of innovative solutions focused on the
sustainable use of the resources of our biodiversity), they were able to design
and manufacture specialized machines – a presser, a shipper, and a die cutter –
for the production of the biodegradable dishes. With the new equipment, they
are able to manufacture 50,000 dishes monthly.
Josué Soto,
the leader of the project, explained how they are working directly with small
producers in the Peruvian Amazon, who are provided with a fair price and
technical training to take advantage of the losses of banana cultivation.
The Chuwa
Plant group has also made these dishes with paper and cardboard cellulose – all
of which (including the banana leaf plates) are disposable (single use),
resistant to various temperatures, liquids and can be used with any type of
food.
Josué Soto
said that they do not need to cut down banana trees or pluck their leaves as
they break off when pickers remove the clusters of bananas from the tree.
The plates
are rectangular in shape, measuring 22 cm x 16 cm x 3 cm (height) and are not
carcinogenic because they do not contain styrene, a petroleum derivative that
is found in other types of containers.
Bio Plant
plates have already been in use in traditional and patron celebrations in
various regions of the country. The group plans to enter the natural
restaurants and ecological wineries market with their product. “The approximate
sale price of our dishes is 100 to 120 soles (US$29.64-35.56) for 100 dishes,
depending on the thickness of the sheet, but over time it may be more
accessible to all consumers,” said Soto in Spanish
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