A group of young Peruvians has launched a project called ‘Bio Plant’ in order to help the world use less plastic. They have created biodegradable dishes made of banana leaves to reduce environmental pollution caused by excessive disposal of plastic. Every banana leaf plate used instead of a plastic one is one less item polluting our planet!

Chuwa Plant
This innovative product can decompose within 2 months – it’s completely degraded naturally before the 60 days are up. Those commonly used plates and containers made of polystyrene (styrofoam) on the other hand take up to 500 years, causing untold amounts of damage to the flora and fauna of the oceans and wildlife on land.

Chuwa Plant
With the co-financing of the Innóvate Peru Program (through the Bio Challenge contest aimed at supporting the development of innovative solutions focused on the sustainable use of the resources of our biodiversity), they were able to design and manufacture specialized machines – a presser, a shipper, and a die cutter – for the production of the biodegradable dishes. With the new equipment, they are able to manufacture 50,000 dishes monthly.

Josué Soto, the leader of the project, explained how they are working directly with small producers in the Peruvian Amazon, who are provided with a fair price and technical training to take advantage of the losses of banana cultivation.

The Chuwa Plant group has also made these dishes with paper and cardboard cellulose – all of which (including the banana leaf plates) are disposable (single use), resistant to various temperatures, liquids and can be used with any type of food.

Josué Soto said that they do not need to cut down banana trees or pluck their leaves as they break off when pickers remove the clusters of bananas from the tree.

The plates are rectangular in shape, measuring 22 cm x 16 cm x 3 cm (height) and are not carcinogenic because they do not contain styrene, a petroleum derivative that is found in other types of containers.


Bio Plant plates have already been in use in traditional and patron celebrations in various regions of the country. The group plans to enter the natural restaurants and ecological wineries market with their product. “The approximate sale price of our dishes is 100 to 120 soles (US$29.64-35.56) for 100 dishes, depending on the thickness of the sheet, but over time it may be more accessible to all consumers,” said Soto in Spanish.

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She was held captive by local residents for two days. Now she is in the safe hands of BOS staff while they continue to monitor her and conduct routine medical tests.

Because of her unique beauty, this sweet orangutan has touched many people worldwide.

Photos Source: BOSFoundation
The Borneo Orangutan Survival (BOS) Foundation, founded in 1991, is an Indonesian non-profit organization dedicated to the conserving the Bornean orangutan and its habitat.

BOS works in cooperation with local communities, as well as the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry and international partner organizations to achieve their goals. Amazingly, BOS is currently taking care of almost 750 orangutans with the help of 400 staff members.

Recently, BOS rescued a five-year-old female orangutan in the Tanggirang village, Kapuas Hulu, with the help of the Central Kalimantan BKSDA. But this sweet girl is an orangutan like no other: she’s albino.

BOS medical staff determined she is an albino orangutan because her hair, eye, and skin color are all paler than a normal orangutan. She is also sensitive to light.

Orangutans are native to the Indonesian islands of Borneo and Sumatra. Being that they are an arboreal species, they are dependent on the lush rainforest environment for their livelihood. Tragically, the area of rainforest across these islands has declined by over 80 percent in the past two decades alone, primarily due to palm oil production.
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An unusual yellow cardinal has birdwatchers racing to Alabama as images of the unique creature have circulated around the Internet and social media.

The bird was first spotted in Alabaster, Ala., in late January in the backyard of Charlie Stephenson.

Auburn University biology professor Geoffrey Hill told AL.com the cardinal is an adult male in the same species as the common red cardinal but carries a genetic mutation that causes it to have bright yellow feathers instead of the usual brilliant red.

Stephenson said the bird has been a punctual visitor to her backyard feeder: "Every time we've looked for him, he'll show up at least once a day," she said to AL.com.

Professional photographer Jeremy Black snapped a couple of shots of the bird, which have made the rounds of news sites nationwide.

Red cardinals are found all across central and eastern North America, according to Cornell University's Ornithology Lab: "A year-round resident, the cardinal is a common visitor to bird feeders in winter, and it has been chosen as state bird in seven U.S. states."

Photos: Jeremy Black
Non-red cardinals are very rare: "Yellow cardinals are a one-in-a million situation," Hill said.

Photos: Jeremy Black
Photos: Jeremy Black

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Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it a man dressed in a bizarre feathered costume? No. It's just the Harpy Eagle. The incredible harpy eagle is simply huge.

When you think of an eagle...

Meet: The Harpy Eagle.

Aside from its imposing stature, it looks mean as heck. Its glare just says “I eat people like you for breakfast”, and I for one would believe it! But at the same time, it kind of looks like a made-up bird. Like a 70s science fiction villain, a Pokémon, or something escaped from Area 51.


However, its claws make it look a lot more serious. Despite its kind of goofy features, there is not a lot of fun in this harpy eagle. Harpy eagles live in the tops of trees in tropical and sub-tropical rainforests. As such, they are mostly found in central and South America. However, as their habitats are destroyed, their numbers dwindle. Now there are fewer than 50,000 left in the wild.

In its native Brazil, they have an even cooler name for it, though. They call it the royal-hawk. Which do you prefer? I think the Brazilian version is better personally.


Luckily for us humans, harpy eagles generally go for smaller prey. “Monkeys, tree porcupines, sloths, coatis, birds, snakes, lizards, etc.” However, we’re pretty sure those huge claws could do some damage to a person in the wrong place at the wrong time!

This is one of the weirdest and most wonderful creatures we’ve ever seen. But, as with many rare birds and animals, it is slowly going extinct. It must be hard to find bird sanctuaries large enough to house their huge >7′ wingspans and bigger flying areas, though.


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