Green kitchen: How green is bamboo?

Want to get the most sustainable kitchen possible but don’t know what products to use? Over the past two weeks we’ve followed Sydney couple Vanessa and Dan Winter on their search for the greenest possible kitchen. This week, we take a look at how well bamboo stacks up.

For Vanessa and Dan Winter, finding the greenest products to use in their kitchen hasn’t been easy.

“I would have thought as it [sustainability] gets talked about a lot there would’ve been a lot of information and products available and services geared around that,” says Vanessa.

“But it turns out there’s not and it’s a real struggle to get enough information about the sort of products out there.”

After exploring plywood as an option, Vanessa and Dan looked at using bamboo, and found that it can be one of the greenest products to use for a sustainable kitchen.

How green is green?

As we explained last week, Vanessa and Dan are evaluating the sustainability of products based on the following three indicators:

• Where the products are sourced from
• Whether resources are depleted in their production; and
• Whether the products contain VOCs (volatile organic compounds).

“The great thing about bamboo is that it’s sourced from sustainable sources,” says Vanessa.

“It doesn’t require any pesticides or fertilisers in its production either, and the companies producing it can minimize the levels of toxins.”

One of the downsides of using bamboo is that it's generally sourced from overseas.

“Almost all bamboo is sourced from China, so by transporting it over here means it’s not as sustainable as it could be, once you take into account the emissions produced in transport."

One of the best things about bamboo is that it is a very sustainable material, according to Vanessa.

“Bamboo grows very easily, doesn’t use any chemicals and there are lots of bamboo plantations,” she says.

“It grows so well and easily, which makes it a great alternative to timber, which is slow growing.”

Most kitchen cabinets and joinery cabinets installed in homes and offices today are manufactured from 16mm white HMR (High Moisture Resistant) board, otherwise referred to as “white board”, White board is strong, versatile, economical and easy to clean.

On the downside, white board is manufactured using urea formaldehyde the effects of which have frequently been tested on animals – see the Laminex MSDS and rabbit skin irritation results.  

While some white board is available with an E0 rating – (see the laminex brochure) many white board products are low formaldehyde emission or LFE, with an E1 classifaction.

Australian standards now limit the amount of formaldehyde that can be released from products by indicating on the label classified amount of formaldehyde emitted over four ranges of formaldehyde emission (E0 to E3). So make sure that you only choose products with an EO emissions rating.

“Luckily, you can get kitchen carcasses with an EO emissions rating,” says Vanessa. “Bamboo itself doesn’t contain melamine or formaldehyde, which makes it a great choice.”

Why bamboo is the greenest choice

While bamboo is typically used for floors, cabinets and benchtops, Vanessa and Dan have found out that it’s a great green product that can be used for the whole kitchen, and have decided to use it for their green kitchen.

“Bamboo is tough and durable, and a lot longer lasting than most types of plywood,” says Vanessa.

“With timber being so scarce and not really sustainable, bamboo is a comparatively affordable alternative.”