The New Temp Bag
From out of Bali, Indonesia comes this awesome new non-plastic bag! It’s ready to replace the excessive and antiquated petroleum-based version that is currently dominating the planet. Although other plastic bag alternatives have made the claim as being biodegradable, this one really is totally compostable. In fact, it can even be eaten safely by wildlife! Apparently they even dig it. 😉 Truly an impressive feat of sustainable innovation.
The bag is made from cassava root. It’s a plant that’s indigenous to Southeast Asia (as well as Latin America & The Caribbean), and is safely consumed by humans and animals alike. It’s essentially comparable to a potato. As such, it has wonderful starchy properties (think tapioca). From the cassava, the creators were able to engineer a bag that could to degrade in nature within 3 – 6 months. Pretty sweet idea!😎
Choking Our Oceans
What’s additionally inspiring is the fact that this initiative was launched to help combat a very real problem. One that is currently plaguing Bali, and the planet at large. That is, the amount of plastic debris that is permeating our oceans. It’s a massive amount, and it is still rising at alarming rates.
Indeed, plastic pollution has been found everywhere! And Indonesia is no exception. Plastic debris is visibly washing up on Bali’s beaches. Of course, disposable plastic bags contribute to the problem (see marineconservation.org).
That’s where the team at Avani comes in. They launched their social enterprise with the vision to, “become the nation’s leading pioneer in sustainable alternatives by providing our stakeholders present beneficial values while leaving impactful footprints for future generations.” It’s a wonderful vision that connects directly with Sustainably Motivated’s values.
The Edible Alternative
As previously explained in Getting Past The Plastic, plastic has proven to be an incredible material. One that should not be used for disposable, single-use items. Unfortunately, this resilient material has come to saturate our societies, our landfills, and the environment. The approach to counter the dominance of plastic is therefore two-fold.
One the one hand, we must look to clean up all the plastic that is poisoning our environment (see Waste Not, Want Not). There are a number of creative ways to accomplish this first part. They range from plogging (picking up litter while jogging), and ocean vacuums (Seabin Project), to social plastic programs and ocean filters (like The Ocean Cleanup). And there are more! Thankfully, the number of ocean cleanup initiatives are growing and I am sincerely grateful for them.👍
Turning Off The Tap
The other means of tackling plastic waste is at the source. That’s obviously the ideal way of cleaning up plastic pollution. Essentially cutting out the plastic in the first place. While we certainly need to clean up the our mess, it’s imperative that we turn off the plastic tap!
That requires developing plastic alternatives, like the awesome Avani bag. It’s such a smart and inspiring invention! One that also demonstrates amazing potential, as it encourages other alternative-plastic applications.
Watch the video below to learn more about this awesome bag, or click their company name to be redirected to their website.
Sustainably Motivated 