Bagasse – What does that sound like to you? Honestly when I first heard that word, I didn’t have a clue yet I was pretty certain it was probably something out of the game the kids play – Neopets.
But it’s not. In fact it’s really something ‘earthly’ and I do mean it in every sense of the word. You see I looked up the dictionary and this is how they defined it:
“The dry, fibrous residue remaining after the extraction of juice from the crushed stalks of sugar cane, used as a source of cellulose for some paper products.”
So basically bagasse is sugarcane!
But I really want to do more than introduce that word (or reveal that I just learnt it), I actually want to talk about the uses of it and how it makes for sustainable products.
Now from the definition above, you can probably tell that it’s the by-product of making sugarcane juice. But what so great about it?
Well I found out that it has a variety of uses. Firstly it can be biomass as it holds promise as a fuel source to produce more than enough heat energy to supply the needs of a common sugar mill. As biomass produces cellulose ethanol which exhibits a net energy content three times higher than corn ethanol and emits a low net level of greenhouse gases than conventional ethanol.
Secondly bagasse can be used to make sustainable daily home products like plates. Now normally for a picnic or a party, many among us use paper plates or plastic plates – whichever the choice, it’s all about simplicity (hassle-free) and minimum time consumption.
But wouldn’t you like to be able to say to your guests, “The sugarcane plates and bowls are on the table, please help yourself to the scrumptious food.”?
It’s nothing fancy, but it is something different and it’s 100% biodegradable. So why not just stick with paper plates then? Those are bio degradable too.
Well firstly paper plates are not by- products, they are manufactured from wood pulp. Unlike Sugarcane plates and bowls with are made from 100% sugarcane fibre (bagasse).
Trees are not easily renewable sources, sugarcanes are. They are a tropical grass that renews itself about every 12 months for harvest!
Secondly paper plates don’t handle moisture/liquid well (or at all). Sugarcane plates on the other hand can do more than just handle them; it can take on them hot or cold.
Better yet, the cost of them is comparable to paper plates so what’s there really to stop you from giving them a try?
Biodegradable, a by-product from a renewable source that has better serving ability for a fair price…sugarcane plates…wouldn’t you like to say you’ve used them?
