Alternatives
Stainless Steel Made Products
The use of stainless steel options for reusable food and beverage storage have multiplied in recent years. Single-use plastic cups, kitchen storage, lunch boxes, and cutleries can be replaced with this metal. They are reusable, durable, environment friendly and easy to clean as well.
Glass made products
Inert, inexpensive, and infinitely recyclable, glass is one of the most preferred alternatives to single use plastic. Glass bottles, plates and cups, straws, storage jars are reusable and recyclable and can replace single use plastic items.
Natural fiber cloth Bags
Natural cloth can replace plastic or polythene shopping bags. Sustainable clothing made from organic cotton, wool, hemp, or bamboo won’t shed plastic fibers when washed. Natural fiber made clothing can be used for making bags that are reusable, washable and compostable over dumping.
Wooden products
Wood from sustainably harvested forests can be used to make products like plates, cups, cutleries, boxes etc. Wood made products are durable, reusable and can replace single use plastic items from our everyday use.
Bamboo made products
Bamboo is a highly renewable, natural material that has antibacterial, antifungal properties and is biodegradable as opposed to plastic. Bamboo can replace single use plastic in items like drinking straws, cutleries, toothbrush etc. It is lightweight, durable, and compostable.
Paper packaging and Paper Made items
Plain paper has been traditionally used for packaging purpose for years. Paper can replace single use plastics in items like packaging, straws, single-use plates, glasses, straws etc. Paper is biodegradable and compostable and hence is considered a sustainable alternative to single use plastics.
Cardboard Items
Cardboard is fully compostable at home as long as it’s not coated in. Many companies around the world are now packaging their products in plain cardboard to cut down on single use plastic waste. Plain cardboard made items can replace single use plastic items as such – plates, cups, bowls, boxes etc. Cardboard can be used as durable and environment friendly packaging material.
Leaf Made products & packaging
Leaves are absolutely biodegradable and widely available. Leaf-made single use items and packaging are getting popular worldwide as they are lightweight, cheap and environment friendly. Most of the single use plastic products can be easily replaced by items made with leaves including – food wrappers, single use plates, bowls, cups etc.
Edible Single Use products and packaging
Single- use products and packaging can also be made with edible materials such – grains, flours, sugar, sea weeds etc. Seaweed-based packaging is another form of SUP alternative that comes in edible and biodegradable grades. Edible glasses, cups, plates, utensils and packaging materials is based upon the concept of Zero Waste Practice.
Betel Leaf based Products and Packaging
Betel leaf packaging can be used to replace plastic packaging. The growing demand for these products has also become a source of earning in different parts of India. These are cheap and can be good alternatives to plastic. (2018, The Times of India)
Other Natural Packaging Materials
Mushroom packaging can be used to replace Styrofoam packaging. A combination of agricultural waste and mycelium (mushroom) root, this home compostable product is “grown” on a hemp-flour mixture, and then dried to halt the growth process. Pressed hay is also used as egg cartons instead of SUP in many countries of the world such as in Poland.
In Bangladesh, the practice of using alternatives is yet not popular enough due to their limited manufacture and lack of mass awareness. The single use plastic producer group is seemingly indifferent to this issue and they are mostly reluctant in opting for the manufacture of alternative products in fear of getting reduced revenue. However, case studies have suggested that, in very few areas of the country, alternative packaging and products are being commercially manufactured by handful of producers and they are making considerable profit out of their business without causing any environmental and health hazard. For instance, straws made up of bamboo sticks are being used and manufactured in hilly regions of the country. A group of manufacturer has been producing compostable ice cream cups made up of leaves in Kushtia district of Bangladesh. All these imply that manufacturing of alternatives has high prospect in Bangladesh.
