What is Elephant Grass Bioplastic?

Bio plastics are plastics that have not been made from the substances that plastics are usually made out of, they are made out of sustainable, biomass materials, such as elephant grass. Therefore, they use less finite resources like fossil fuels than traditional plastics.

How are Elephant Grass Bioplastics made?

Elephant grass is used as a base product to make many sustainable alternatives to traditional materials, because it is rich in cellulose. elephant grass fibres are mixed with starch and cellulose to create a plastic-like material. This material can then be molded into many different packaging products, such as the elephant grass cap shown in the picture above.

What are the advantages of Elephant Grass Bioplastic?

Elephant grass absorbs a large amount of Carbon Dioxide during growth, and does not need many fertilisers or pesticides to be grown, so it has very little impact on the environment. In fact, a hectare of elephant grass can absorb four times more greenhouse gases than a hectare of tree forest, and also rejuvenates the soil in which it is grown, making it a highly sustainable solution.

It is also biodegradable, meaning it can be composted once used. However, elephant grass bioplastic is not recyclable, unlike sugarcane bioplastic, which is fully recyclable, like normal plastics. You can learn more about sugarcane bioplastic here.