by 
Dinner Diva: Paper, plastic? I’ll take the bamboo
Posted on Augusta Free Press
There’s a relatively new product on the market that you may or may not be familiar with — bamboo dinnerware. These reusable and/or disposable dishes are made from the sheath of the bamboo plant. Bamboo can grow more than a meter per day and the plant matures within five years, making it one of the world’s most sustainable resources.
The environmentalist in me is absolutely thrilled with these bamboo dishes because they are so much better for our planet, but my inner diva loves that they are just so gorgeous! You can find all sorts of dishes made out of bamboo from serving ware and utensils to your standard plates, bowls and cups.
There are several benefits to using bamboo dishes:
• They’re much stronger than paper
• Bamboo dishes are 100% biodegradable
• No harsh chemicals or dyes are used to produce them
• Bamboo dishes are quite elegant to serve food on
• These dishes are naturally antimicrobial
• They are light weight and stain resistant
You can dispose of these dishes after one use (I personally wouldn’t!) or you can wash them and dry them by hand, pack them away and use them again and again.
These bamboo dishes are also great for kids. They would make a great replacement for those plastic plates depicting recognizable cartoon characters. Plastic isn’t the safest thing to eat off of in the first place, but as those plates become scratched and scuffed as tends to happen with children’s dishes, where is that paint going? What happens to those chemicals and toxins that were used to make those plates? It leeches out into the food that’s on that plate! Bamboo dishes are great for the whole family, including the little ones.
Do you use bamboo dinnerware? Let us know on our Facebook page! http://www.facebook.com/savingdinner.