Interesting Facts about Bamboo and Bamboo Urns

Bamboo is an extremely fast growing plant and considered one of the most renewable plants in the world! After bamboo is harvested, it starts its rapid growth right away and is ready for harvest again in as little as one year. This makes it an amazing renewable resource and a wonderful material for a number of uses. In addition, many people love the look of bamboo, making it a popular choice for many household items and other products.

Interesting Facts About Bamboo

• Bamboo is Stronger Than Steel – many people would immediately question this statement, however after doing some research, you’ll find that bamboo does in fact have a higher tensile strength than steel. Tensile strength refers to how difficult it is to pull a material apart. Bamboo can bend without breaking and is also a very lightweight material. For these reasons, among others, many companies are now using bamboo in construction, bike frames, and for many other uses.

• Bamboo is Antibacterial – the natural properties of bamboo fibers are in fact antibacterial, making it great for use in clothing and other items. In a recent study, bamboo and cotton were compared and tested for the amount of bacteria they eliminated in a twenty-four hour period. Bamboo killed nearly all of the bacteria, however, with cotton all of the bacteria remained in place. Recognizing this benefit, a number of manufacturers of clothes, linens, diapers and other materials are now using bamboo instead of cotton or other materials. The result – better smelling clothes, cleaner linens, and less frequent washing (resulting in less water consumption)!

• Bamboo is Edible – many dishes in Asian cultures contain bamboo shoots (and it’s also the food of choice for Pandas!). Bamboo shoots have very little fat and calories and are a good source of fiber. The edible shoots are cut away from the bamboo plant when it is only roughly six inches in height.

• Bamboo Was Instrumental in Thomas Edison’s Lightbulb Invention – Thomas Edison is a famous historical figure, however, many people don’t know about his interest in bamboo. In fact, bamboo actually helped Edison construct his initial light bulb! Edison figured out that with a filament made from carbonized bamboo, the light bulb had a life of over 1,200 hours. Before that, other filaments were used made from cotton, linen threads, wood and paper and the life of the bulb was much less. With this knowledge, Edison and his colleagues began mass producing light bulbs in the 1880s using carbonized bamboo filament.

• Bamboo Holds a Spot in the Guinness World Records! – there are approximately one thousand species of bamboo. One of these species called the ‘45 genera’ can grow up to 35 inches per day (about 1.5 inches per hour!) earning it a spot in the Guinness World Records as the fastest growing plant on earth!

• Bamboo Can Generate a Significant Amount of Oxygen – bamboo is not just the fastest growing plant, it also generates significantly more oxygen than hardwood trees (up to thirty five percent more!). This makes bamboo a great friend of mankind!

• Bamboo Prevents Soil Erosion – bamboo forms a dense underground network of roots, making for a very strong base. This base serves as a great preventer of soil erosion! Many people plant bamboo near or on the side of streams, rivers, or other areas of loose soil to help stabilize the ground and prevent erosion.

• Bamboo is a Renewable Resource – an excellent alternative for wood harvested from trees, bamboo grows much faster and is typically harvested as soon as 1-5 years after planting (then continues to grow back rapidly after harvest). Alternatively, wood such as oak can take decades of growth until it can be harvested. Using bamboo instead of various woods can help reduce deforestation and help the environment!

About Bamboo Urns

With all of the benefits of bamboo and with the rise in the number of people choosing cremation, bamboo urns are becoming more and more popular in the U.S. and throughout the world. These attractive biodegradable bamboo urns can be used to scatter ashes, bury ashes, or as a decorative urn holding ashes indoors. Bamboo is also used as a protective casing around biodegradable urns and an attractive piece that is frequently used in funerals for people who chose cremation.

Types of Bamboo Urns

Given the strength, attractiveness, and other benefits of bamboo, bamboo urns are a great option for families who are trying to decide what to do with a loved one’s ashes. Below we’ve highlighted two of the top bamboo urns on the market today.

• Eco Burial Bamboo Urn – this unique cylinder-shaped bamboo urn gives a loved one a proper resting place. It can hold up to all of one set of ashes and can either be buried at a special place or simply kept indoors as a beautiful decorative urn (as it will not biodegrade unless it is buried). Offered at $69, it’s an elegant and affordable option that’s growing in popularity!

• Eco Scattering Bamboo Urns – this proprietary patented line of environmentally-friendly bamboo scattering urns are the leading new way to scatter ashes of a loved one at a favorite place! Made of only bamboo and a birch wood locking pin, they are a very eco friendly and can be disposed of wherever you scatter or even repurposed if desired. Also, their simple, proprietary top makes the urn highly functional so families can scatter ashes of a loved one with control and grace, which is very important to many people. The functionality aspect of scattering urns has been ignored by manufacturers for years, but with Eco Scattering, it was essential in the design. They are also TSA compliant making it easy for transport and travel. Starting at $49, these are another affordable and beautiful option for families.

Bamboo Casing for Urns

Another popular use of bamboo in the funeral market is to use it as an attractive and durable casing or packaging to hold a biodegradable or other urn. The Living Urn® currently incorporates bamboo casing etched with their logo on two of their products – The Living Urn® bio urn and planting system and the Eco Water Urn. The bamboo casing for each of these products is helpful to store the urn containing a loved one’s ashes while waiting for the right time to do a tree burial or sea burial. The bamboo casing is also commonly used to safely and securely transport the urn with ashes to that special place for the memorial, or as an attractive eco-friendly piece as part of a ceremony where family and friends gather to honor a loved one.