Award-Winning Recycled Palm Tree Fiber Pot, Receives National Recognition
The Xaxim Sambaiaçu was very common in the past, to be used as pots for ferns, orchids, bromeliads and other plants. However, the unbound exploration of the plant, (xaxim is extracted from its stem) caused, in 2001, the National Council of the Environment (Conama) to prohibit the extraction and commercialization of xaxim, since the species was declared at risk of extinction. Since then, many other alternatives where made with coconut fiber or coconut straw. And recently, one of these new xaxims, manufactured by a Brazilian company, with recycled fiber palm tree, gained worldwide attention and was awarded a plant and landscaping fair in the United States.
"The creation of xaxims arose through a research to use the disposal of palm tree in the production of palm heart. In the extraction of the product only 3% of the palm tree for consumption, so 97% of the palm tree was discarded", said Barbara Fink, president of BioFink*.
She says that the development of the product was the partnership of a research center to create various ways to reuse the fibers of the palm tree, until then thrown in the trash." Among them stood out the pot and substrate for plants, both ecological, biodegradable and 100% natural, derived from the disposal of cultivated plantations".
In the last 18 months, more than 300 tons of palm fibers have been recycled for the production of xaxims.
All the raw material used by the company comes from Porto Belo, in Santa Catarina. According to BioFink, xaxims do not have any kind of chemical or mineral additive and are free of tannin, a substance present in coconut fiber vessels and that hinders the growth of the roots of some plants.
In late January, BioFink participated in the Tropical Plant International Expo (TPIE) in Tampa, Florida, where it presented the xaxim pots to the U.S. market. "We were very happy to receive two awards during the fair: "Best New Product" and the "Cool Product Award", which were chosen by the visitors of the fair themselves", celebrates Barbara.
*BioFink is the representative in the United States of Biogreen, the Brazilian company, based in Santa Catarina, which manufactures xaxims