It will be weird for you to find a banana leaf packaging. Thai Supermarket, Rimping Supermarket located in Chiangmai, Thailand, has decided to use banana leaf packaging as it can make a difference in the over usage of plastic.
They use banana leaves to wrap the veggies and fruits, and then tie it with a ribbon, and paste a sticker on the leaf with the code and the price. They also have a sticker pasted on it which reads ‘pesticide in order to assure customers that the product is grown in a safe way.
Even though this was originated from Thailand Street vendors, now it has incorporated in supermarkets too.
The single-use plastic will reduce by the banana leaves instead of plastic for packaging vegetables. As the fruits and vegetables are just wrapped in a banana leaf and secured using a flexible piece of bamboo, it helps to reduce the amount of plastic required.
Banana leaves are large, thick and supple enough to be folded.
The main thing we should consider is the relative cost of plastic versus banana leaves. Banana leaves can be found in tropical locations and also you could find them free according to the quantity you needed. And also local biodegradable products could be a good alternative in areas where bananas don’t grow.
This technique is actually not that new, it has a long history. People use banana leaves to wrap tamales in some tropical regions of Mexico, and also banana leaves are used during pig roasts to protect the pig from the hot lava rocks in Hawaii. These leaves are also used to wrap sticky in Southeast Asia.
Innovations like these are definitely going to help for a safer and healthier environment as plastic is a huge problem.
Plastic effect on the world we live in. The average supermarket plastic bag can take up to 1,000 years to break down. Annually, more than 8 million metric tons of plastic enter the world’s oceans, and 500 million plastic straws are used daily in the U.S.
Luckily, people are becoming aware of this issue, and about 15 countries and cities around the world have taken steps to stand against plastic:
- Australia – South Australia, the Australian Capital Territory, Tasmania, and the Northern Territory, have banned single-use plastic bags
- Canada – In January 2018, Canada banned plastic microbeads
- Kenya – Anyone in Kenya who is found using, producing, or selling a plastic bag faces up to four years in jail, or a $38,000 fine.
- Zimbabwe – In July 2017, Zimbabwe announced a total ban on expanded polystyrene (EPS)
- Montreal – The Canadian city of Montreal banned single-use plastic bags
- New Delhi – In 2017, it banned all forms of single-use plastic.
- Morocco – The ban was signed into law on July 1, 2016
- Vanuatu – On July 30, 2017, it announced the beginning of a phasing out of plastic bags and bottles.
- Malibu – In March 2018, the Californian city of Malibu’s local council voted to ban the sale, distribution, and use of single-use plastic straws, stirrers, and plastic cutlery
- Seattle – As of July 1, it will become the first US city to enact a ban on plastic straws and single-use plastic utensils.
- Hamburg – The German city of Hamburg banned non-recyclable plastic coffee pods in February 2016
- France – In 2016, France announced a total ban on plastic cups, plates, and cutlery, to be brought in from 2020.
- Rwanda –Rwanda banned plastic bags completely
- The UK – In January 2018, the UK announced a 25-year plan to “set the global gold standard” on eliminating plastic waste
- Taiwan –Taiwan announced the restriction of the use of single-use plastic bags, straws, utensils, and cups