Your cutting board is an important kitchen essential. It’s where your food preparation begins. It’s likely that every household has one but do we know what the impact is of disposing of cutting boards? Many of us don’t think twice about the impact of disposing of housewares.
Perhaps some of us donate them while others throw them in the garbage only to be piled onto the heaps in the landfills. When we make purchasing decisions, most of us are driven to make buying choices based on budget
If you look at the variety of cutting boards in stores, you will find that plastic ones tend to be up to 40% less than bamboo or wood cutting boards while glass are double the price. Many are attracted to the aesthetics of glass but are they really any good? Why is the bamboo cutting board the best choice in the market?
Is Glass a Sustainable Resource?
Plastic boards, no doubt, are not the right choice to make when deciding on your most essential kitchen tool – the cutting board. It’s worth looking at other options and alternatives, like glass, in the market so you can feel good about your investment.
Choosing the right material for your cutting activities may sound trivial to many, but if you spend a lot of time in the kitchen cooking, it’s a pretty important investment to have just like your set of knives.
Glass is considered sustainable because it can be 100% recyclable but only if it actually ends up in the right place and not in the landfill. Some may argue that glass is not a sustainable material if you look at the entire product development process of glass.
To make glass requires sand, limestone and soda ash – resources that are non-renewable. Although glass itself can be reused over and over, its birth and end of life process requires a lot of energy to transform it to the material we can use. Also, its end of life requires more energy including human resources to sort and separate glass by color before it is ready for its next life.
Whether you think glass is a sustainable material depends on how you view the process of recycling. But if a finished product is made of non-renewable resources, the way glass is, it may be better than plastic, but still not the best choice for the environment.
Glass vs Bamboo Cutting Boards
Beyond its sustainable properties, you need to assess glass cutting boards’ practicality and usability. Just as plastic boards have disadvantages, so do glass ones. It has a number of great advantages but the disadvantages far outweigh the benefits it offers. Below is a quick snapshot of the comparison between bamboo and glass boards:
Why Bamboo is the Best Choice
You may have to spend a bit more money for the sustainable product, but it’s positive impact is worth the investment. Unlike wood boards which are more expensive, heavier and not as renewable, bamboo boards are cheaper alternatives with exceptional qualities that rival those of the classic wood blocks.
Plastic is by far the least environmentally friendly product in the market and can cause health issues because its porous surface hosts bacteria that can lead to foodborne illnesses and diseases. Its disposal is a problem for our ecosystem and its product development is harmful to our environment.
Glass can be sustainable and renewable if recycled properly but can you ensure that its end of lifecycle management is done properly? Though it’s attractive, low maintenance and typically anti-bacterial, it’s fragile, heavier, more expensive and has some serious drawbacks like dulling your knife or causing accidental cutting.
Bamboo is by far the smarter choice: it is affordable, anti-bacterial, 100% made of renewable resources, biodegrades in a matter of months, doesn’t dull your knife, attractive and comes in a great variety as a single product or in a bundle. With bamboo made cutting boards, you can find multi-functional designed ones that dub as a centerpiece for your wine and cheese party complete with compartments for your mini serving tools and a simple cutting board for all sorts of dry goods.
Learn more about the types of sustainable bamboo cutting boards available.
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Hi,
An excellent comparative analysis!
People should know that some items are better as simple decorations rather than using them on daily basis. It’s OK that glass cutting boards look stylish, but their usability is questionable for environmental sustainability!
I am delighted to read this article.
Greetings,
Let me say that the article is very helpful!
It is good to see that people can easily find reliable information sources related to every day utilization items. Bamboo is getting huge applause as an excellent alternative to the previously used non-biodegradable materials. It is prime time to start using such things.