Ecological and Eco-Friendlier Importance of Bamboo in The Era of Single-Use Plastic Ban in Kerala

Plastic is a very harmful material for nature. It is reported that 40 per cent of the pollution in the globe is happening due to plastic. Some of the reports (Patrick J Kiger, 2015; Claire Le Guern, 2019; Laura Parker, 2015; Erik Van Sebille, 2016) show that around 8 million tons of plastic waste are gone to the ocean each year which affects the marine life extremely. Plastic is not biodegradable material. In all dimensions, we can say that plastic is an adversary to the earth. It is very essential to reduce the use of plastic to protect our nature. Many of the countries have banned single-use plastic products such as water bottles, bags, straws, etc. by considering environmental issues. Kerala state in India banned the same from 1 January 2020.  In this situation, bamboo products can be considered as an alternative to plastic products. The present paper tries to describe the environmental challenges of plastic and also the ecological and eco-friendlier importance of bamboo and its products in the period of single-use plastic ban in Kerala. The needed data is gathered by reviewing various literatures. The paper proves that bamboo has an inevitable role in environmental sustainability like soil erosion protection, conservation of soil and water, check dams, bamboo railing in river banks, carbon absorption, reconstruction of land, etc. It can be used for making many of the products instead of plastic such as household items, decorative items, bathroom products, musical instruments, ornaments, etc. due to its eco-friendly characteristic.