Plastics Are Forever: How About Banana Leaves Instead?

It's possible you may have heard there's a plastic problem in the world — we're kidding, of course you have. A mountain of disposables are thrown away every day and a garbage patch the size of a country is floating in the Pacific.

Thankfully, many companies, organizations, and people are fighting to tackle the issue. Tenith Innovations, the people behind Banana Leaf Technology, are one such group, and they are championing the uses of banana leaves for a multitude of everyday uses.

Doing away with single-use plastics

Over half of the world's plastics and paper are used one time and then thrown away. This accounts for an annual cut down of 7 billion trees, Tenith Innovations say in a press release.

"Mother nature offers us everything we need and it's up to humankind to make the right choice," the company says.

In order to create an alternative to these wasteful products, Tenith Innovations created Banana Leaf Technology, a "cellular eco-friendly technology" that preserves leaves and organic biomaterials for up to a year without the use of any harmful chemicals.

The technique was developed by Tenith Adithyaa, an Indian innovation scholar who currently serves as the CEO of a social network called Altruu. 

Natural preservation technique

Typically, leaves and biomaterials, in general, degrade within a few days making them a poor alternative to plastics. Banana Leaf Technology enhances the physical properties of leaves to make them last longer, and be usable as a replacement for both paper and plastic.

Using a natural preservative, Adithyaa was able to increase the durability of the leaves. It allows them to have a shelf lifespan of three years — though they will lose their color after one year.

It has been reported that, by 2050, there will be more pieces of plastics in the sea than fish. Solutions like these can help to prevent us from living in a world overrun by plastic.