Shipping Containers Get Bamboo Floors
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09. 6.07
Lo-Tek and Adam Kalkin will be chasing these: Eco-containers with bamboo floors. We have noted previously the toxicity of conventional container floors, which are often made with tropical wood. French shipping company now has 37,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) of "eco-containers", saving 10,000 cubic metres of tropical wood.
“Expanding our eco-container fleet has a dual objective. First, we want to make use of modern eco-design ideas and limit the use of tropical wood because this resource is disappearing. We also want to improve the technical performance of our own containers to ensure that we provide customers with the service they expect,” declares Alexis Michel, senior VP of Container Logistics. As Katie at Earth2Tech says: " Hmm, good for the planet and the bottom line? Sounds like smooth sailing." ::CMA VGM via ::Earth2Tech
Bamboo isn't necessarily the greenest choice either. Sometimes other forests are completely cut down to make bamboo plantations. Bamboo AND tropical hardwoods can be considered environmentally preferable if they come from a sustainably managed forest.
For more information, visit: http://www.dovetailinc.org/reportView.php?action=displayReport&reportID=30
Of course, in my eyes, using local sustainably harvested wood is the best option if it is available.
nice...but we should other alternative too.