Do you know what those beautiful lunch boxes with delicious food in the picture are made of? PP polypropylene? PS polystyrene? Or cardboard?
Actually, they are made from sugar cane pulp, which is made from bagasse, the waste product of sugar production.
So what is bagasse?
WHAT IS BAGASSE?
Bagasse is the fibre of the sugar cane plant. Bagasse is a dry, pulpy fibre that is a by-product of cane sugar production and is a natural waste product of sugar production. Sugar cane produces about 79% of the world's sugar. This means that a lot of bagasse is produced - about 3 tonnes of bagasse for every 10 tonnes of sugar cane processed.
The most common use for bagasse is to burn it as a fuel source. Unfortunately, burning bagasse releases large amounts of CO2, a major greenhouse gas, back into the atmosphere. Bagasse also has limited use as animal feed.
When most bagasse is burned or dumped, it wastes resources and pollutes the environment. How can bagasse be fully utilised, turning waste into treasure and protecting the environment? That is, bagasse is made into various things such as packaging boxes and food containers.
About 50% of the bagasse left over after sugar production can be used to make paper. However, there is still some bagasse (pith cells) which has no pulping power and should be removed before the pulping process. The length of bagasse fibre is about 0.65-2.17 mm and the width is 21-28 μm. Its fibre shape is not as good as wood and bamboo, but slightly better than rice and wheat grass fibres. This means that sugarcane has more and better fibre texture and is more suitable for the production of moulded pulp boards.
BENEFITS OF USING BAGASSE
Eco-Friendly
Not all containers made from natural materials are environmentally friendly, such as paper food containers. Trees can take several years to grow and mature long enough to be harvested for production. And sugar cane is a rapidly renewable resource. Sugarcane can fully regrow in just 10 to 18 months, making it a greener alternative to paper and wood. Sugarcane regenerates much faster than trees, so it is easier on the ecosystem as it uses fewer natural resources to grow and renew.
Sugarcane is one of the best plants for reducing the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. This is because of something called carbon sequestration. This means that as the cane grows, it absorbs CO2 from the air and converts it into biomass. Sugarcane absorbs more CO2 per hectare as it grows than almost any other plant. Researchers have even suggested that expanding sugarcane production could reduce global CO2 emissions by up to 5.2%.
In addition, the production of bagasse paper products is much more efficient, requiring only 1.5 tonnes of sugarcane pulp to produce 1 tonne of bagasse paper, compared to the 5 tonnes of wood required to produce 1 tonne of conventional paper.
Compostable
One of the key advantages of bagasse fibre over other disposable products is that it will not pollute the environment for decades or even centuries. Instead, bagasse products biodegrade quickly and do not release harmful chemicals.
It biodegrades in 30-60 days. When plant fibre products decompose, they return natural ingredients to the environment because they are made from natural, organic and renewable materials. Natural plant fibre products are the perfect alternative to petroleum-based polystyrene and plastic products, which take thousands of years to decompose.
Durable and super strong
Bagasse products are actually remarkably durable. Bagasse fibres are naturally tough, making them highly resistant to grease and moisture. They are microwave safe (unlike most plastic plates) and can easily withstand temperatures up to 220°F, which is hotter than boiling water.
