Shadowing Practice: Can Bamboo Replace Paper And Plastic? And Should It? | World Wide Waste | Business Insider - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Demand for bamboo is growing.
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Whether it's straws, spoons, or even toilet paper, bamboo products are springing up on grocery shelves everywhere.
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usually branded as a greener alternative to plastic and paper.
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Some species of the fast -growing plant can sprout more than one foot per day.
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But our bamboo products Really good for the planet?
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And how do they stack up against the paper and plastic competition?
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Over the centuries, people have used bamboo to build houses, make paper, and even cook into food.
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Today, it's still often used as scaffolding in places like Hong Kong.
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Using it to make disposable items like cups and toilet paper is a much newer concept.
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And it's on the rise.
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Bamboo forests in China, the world's top supplier, have more than are two of the top buyers.
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Bamboo thrives on the island of Taiwan, too in forests like this one.
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It's one of the only food contact safe, approved bamboo plantations in Taiwan.
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That's where a Taiwanese company called Lastic gets its bamboo.
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After sawing down each stalk, harvesters slice off the small branches and leaves.
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Those stalks will later become foodware, like straws and lunchboxes.
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The founder used to work as an importer of packaged foods.
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and felt he was adding to the world's plastic problems.
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We have thousands of dollars in the market.
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We have 60 % of our products use of塑膠.
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- At the production site, the team slices open a bundle.
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Most of the workers here are part of a different operation that makes bamboo skewers for food.
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Plastic partners with them to use some of their leftover scraps.
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Inside, a worker cuts the stalks into segments, removing these tough joints called "nodes." The smaller chunks travel through this device,
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which cuts them in half and sorts them by size.
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The team soaps bundles of these segments in water for a couple hours.
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A worker feeds the softened pieces into a machine that cuts out the skewer shapes.
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Plastic uses these leftover strands, called "offcuts." Some of them will serve as fuel for the next step.
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They're loaded into a bucket with pellets that are also made of bamboo.
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All of it powers a machine that dries the stringy offcuts and grinds them up.
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Next, the bagged bamboo powder will be mixed with other ingredients.
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Elastic wouldn't show us that part, but the recipe includes cornstarch and minerals.
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There's also something the founders call a bioadhesive.
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It's technically a biodegradable plastic and it's made from plants instead of fossil fuels.
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It helps hold bamboo fibers together and makes them moldful like plastic goods.
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LASDIC has about 30 different formulas which can take nearly any shape, including straws.
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This machine can make 300 of them a minute.
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The company also makes lunchboxes.
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A sheet of the mixture is warmed up, then vacuum pressure sucks it into shape.
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At another facility, machines press elastics formula into spoons, Forks and other cutleries.
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The final products are packaged and ready to be shipped out.
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For now, the team wraps the straw bundles in plastic.
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But they're working on an alternative.
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Eventually, all of our packaging will be this material but we haven't been able to Coinmask produce a bag yet.
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Plastic's customers include coffee shops, packaging companies, and straw makers.
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Some buy the finished goods.
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Others buy the bamboo mixture and make the goods themselves.
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The idea is that manufacturers can easily switch from plastic to elastic.
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You can just use it in the same
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Machinery just switching some of the temperature settings on the machines and we can make the exact same product
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Just to add a layer we can make This is the traditional of the powder.
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of this technology
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We need to reduce the competition to increase their cooperation
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The company says all products made from its material can break down in nature.
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That's a key detail.
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Many "compostable" plastics only break down at industrial compost facilities under very specific temperature and moisture conditions.
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our product, you don't need any Special machinery, it decomposes a natural environment.
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quite rapidly.
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But don't just take the company's word for it.
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It has seven different certifications backing this up.
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including one of the world's strictest tests for compostability called AS5810.
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To hit that standard, you have to prove that the product biodegrades in under 180 days in a home compost bin.
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And that it's non -toxic even to worms living in the soil.
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Thank you.
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The faster a product breaks down in nature, the less time it has to harm or entangle an animal.
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But there's more to environmental impact than biodegradability, like energy usage.
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Plastic shared a study showing its production emissions aren't that different from regular plastic.
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But, said it's just a rough estimate.
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Other research looked at more than 100 different bamboo products, and found most of them had lower emissions than similar items made of other materials.
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including plastic.
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That's mainly because the bamboo items took less energy to make.
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One more complication.
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The recipes for bamboo plastic vary widely and sometimes might even be unsafe.
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In 2022, the European Union cracked down on the illegal import of food containers made of bamboo and plastic,
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saying they could leak harmful chemicals in risky amounts, especially when heated.
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The main issue isn't bamboo.
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but mixing it with a type of resin called melamine.
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which Lastik does not use.
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Still, for now, the company can't sell products with bamboo in them in Europe.
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Meanwhile, eating out of regular old plastic containers might have health impacts too.
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There's evidence it can mess with people's hormones and fertility.
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So long as bamboo products are safety tested and truly biodegradable, there's a good chance they're a better option than plastic.
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But how do they stack up against paper products?
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Unlike trees, Bamboo can regrow from its roots after it's cut down without replanting.
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And it can be harvested every few years, while pine trees take decades to mature.
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An estimated two million trees are cut down and make toilet paper every day.
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A company called Real Paper sources its bamboo from this forest in southwest China.
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This tree is a long time, and its growing environment is not so much as a choice.
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These stalks are at least two years old.
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After the bamboo is cut down, the harvesting team sends it through a chipper.
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From here, the chips head to a paper mill.
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Inside these tanks, the chips are heated with a chemical mixture until they're soft and lighter in color.
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The pulp is dried and compressed into sheets.
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At another facility, they're turned into giant rolls of paper known as parent roles.
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Machines wind the paper onto smaller cardboard tubes and slice them into the toilet paper rolls we know and love.
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The process is basically the same for making standard toilet paper.
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Acceptance.
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Standard tissue uses the pulp from trees instead of bamboo.
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Major brands like Charmin and Cottonelle have gotten into hot water for sourcing tree pulp from Canada's boreal forest.
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Sometimes called "L 'Amazon of the North," it's a massive carbon sink and home to threatened species like caribou.
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These major brands are using virgin forest fiber from globally important forests.
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for a product we use for a few seconds and flush down the toilet.
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The region is also home to over 600 communities of indigenous people, Sometimes I cry sometimes when I go, when I sit at my house and think about the land,
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how it's going to be destroyed and all the forestries and all the machinery.
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Paper companies typically don't own forest land themselves.
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They get their wood from outside suppliers. But...
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Toilet paper helps drive forest loss, regardless of who cuts the trees down.
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So, can bamboo help?
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Well, one report says the best option for toilet tissue isn't bamboo, it's recycled paper.
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And no, that doesn't mean used toilet paper.
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It's toilet paper that's made using paper that you throw in your recycling bin or that is coming from an office building.
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It has one third the carbon footprint.
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But bamboo is the next best choice.
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It's better than using trees, but not quite as good as the 100 % recycled stuff.
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That's because bamboo forests are still an important part of local ecosystems.
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If you're shopping for bamboo tissue, you can look for a seal from the Forest Stewardship Council.
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They do help to ensure that some basic sustainability standards are met,
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as opposed to other certification systems that are not nearly as rigorous.
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But here's the thing.
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There's more than one type of FSC certification,
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Look for FSC 100 % if you want tissue made entirely from sustainably harvested bamboo you Ultimately,
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even renewable resources have environmental impacts.
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If sourced and used responsibly, bamboo has a lot of promise.
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However, Some of these eco -friendly products are relatively expensive.
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At Walmart, one roll of real paper costs $1 .67.
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compared to about $1 .25 for Roll of Charmin. But.
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Both elastic bendy straw and a traditional plastic one cost less than a penny.
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Meanwhile, research shows many consumers are willing to pay extra for more sustainable options.
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Yet the team behind Lastix says it might take regulation to truly compete.
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More and more, countries are looking into laws that hold polluting companies accountable, an approach called "extended producer responsibility," or EPR.
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The idea is to make plastic and paper "producers" pay for collecting and recycling their products you
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That could lead to higher prices, making it easier to compete, or to major brands switching to more planet -friendly materials.
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I think This is still need to be able to do EPR's development that I'm going to go to the Yes, sir.
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I would like
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to use It's a bit more of a bit more more than a kind and more responsible for the material.
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you you you Thank you.
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Thank you.
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Why Practice Speaking with This Video?
Practicing your speaking skills with the video "Can Bamboo Replace Paper And Plastic? And Should It?" can be highly beneficial for English learners. The dialogue presents a range of topics related to environmental sustainability, which not only enhances vocabulary but also fosters important discussions about contemporary issues. By engaging with the content through shadowspeak techniques, learners will improve their fluency and pronunciation.
Using a shadowing app or simply repeating after the speaker will help in mimicking the natural flow of conversation. As the speaker discusses the properties of bamboo and its potential as a sustainable alternative, learners can practice inflection, tone, and pace, which are essential elements of effective communication. Plus, discussing topics that resonate with global challenges can inspire more meaningful language use.
Grammar & Expressions in Context
Throughout the video, several key structures and expressions stand out that can enrich your English skills:
- Passive Voice: Phrases like "bamboo products are springing up" showcase the use of the passive voice, which is valuable for emphasizing actions over subjects. Understanding this structure can help you articulate ideas more objectively.
- Present Continuous Tense: The speaker frequently employs the present continuous tense while describing ongoing actions, like "Bamboo is thriving." This structure is crucial for discussing current trends and developments.
- Comparative Structures: Expressions such as "branded as a greener alternative" illustrate how to make comparisons, which can add depth to your discussions. Learning how to construct such sentences enhances your ability to make arguments and comparisons effectively.
Common Pronunciation Traps
Language learners may encounter certain pronunciation challenges in this video. Here are some words and phrases to focus on:
- Bamboo: Pay attention to the way “bamboo” is pronounced, as the combination of vowels can often trip up learners. Try to practice the soft ‘b’ sounds.
- Scaffolding: This term may be difficult due to its multiple syllables. Break it down into parts while practicing the soft and hard consonant contrasts.
- Alternative: This word is often mispronounced due to its complexity. Focus on the articulation of each syllable to ensure clarity.
By incorporating these elements into your practice sessions using the video, you will not only enhance your speaking skills but also deepen your understanding of important global issues. Remember, learning English with YouTube content like this one can be both informative and engaging, especially when utilizing shadow speak techniques to boost your confidence in speaking.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | are also made · is warmed · are packaged |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | haven't been · have gotten |
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.