100 Yen Bamboo Charcoal
My girlfriend came back from shopping yesterday. She was browsing one of the several 100 yen shops in the area when she spotted a pack of bamboo charcoal. Konwing my fascination with all things bamboo she bought it for me.
What a find! Bamboo charcoal costs about $20 on Amazon and here in Japan you can find it for just $1.20! It is only 4 pieces of bamboo charcoal, but still the price difference is noticeable. Usually dollar shops, pound shops and 100 yen shops around the world sell plastic rubbish made in China that breaks quickly and does nothing but pollute and drain natural resources. How refreshing to find something locally made and from a renewable resource in a 100 yen shop. If only they could put more such items on the shelves of 100 yen shops.
The bamboo charcoal came in a paper pack. It consists of 2 bundles wrapped in porous material. You can feel the dry bamboo charcoal inside. The wrapped bamboo charcoal is designed to be put in the fridge, trash can or elsewhere to suck unpleasant odors from a room.
I’ve put one bundle in the small toilet and bathroom. Not only does it suck up the nasty smells from bodily functions but it also helps to soak up the humidity in the small room and slow up the spread of mold.
The other bundle I have in my kitchen / living room area. It does a similar job.
As the instructions on the packet explain, the bamboo charcoal bundles will work for about 4 months before they lose some of their absorbency. At which time all I have to do is leave the bamboo charcoal in the sunlight for a few hours to restore their effectiveness.
After a year or so when I want to dispose of the bamboo charcoal I don’t have to burden the municipal disposal system. As the packet says I can remove the bamboo charcoal from the bags and break it up into small pieces. I can mix the small pieces of bamboo charcoal into soil and use it as pesticide and fertilizer.
I knew this already but I’m very impressed that the Japanese packaging explains the full benefits of bamboo charcoal through its life cycle. My new idea is to start up a 100 yen shop that only sells environmentally friendly products. It’s such a good idea that I might try to find Richard Branson’s email address and let him use the idea for free.
