Panda Bamboo Products – Panda Bamboo [ECG – Premium – Cat.2 Distributor]
Overview:
Durable strand-woven and laminated bamboo flooring and furniture board available in tongue and groove, self-locking, and prefinished or unfinished. Suitable for interior residential and commercial applications.
Product Description:
Panda Bamboo strand woven and laminated bamboo flooring products are rapidly renewable flooring and furniture board products, suitable for residential and commercial interior applications. Bamboo has similar physical characteristics to quality hardwood timber. The products are UV-cured and E1 certified low VOC.
Bamboo is a viable ‘rapidly renewable’ solid wood alternative to hardwood flooring thereby reducing the demand to log native forests. Moso Bamboo is self regenerating and grows to full maturity within 5 years. It can be re-harvested every 4-5 years and self germinates.
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PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS
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Options |
Laminated bamboo flooring: 15mm, tongue and groove, pre-finished (PU) and unfinished Strand-woven bamboo flooring: 14mm, tongue and groove, self-locking, pre-finished (PU) and unfinished Laminated bamboo furniture board: 0.6mm veneer, 3, 5, 13, 16, 20, 30 and 40mm thickness Strand-woven furniture board: 5, 14, 18 and 30mm thickness |
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Colours |
Natural Caramel (carbonised) |
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Warranty |
15 years residential, and 5 years commercial |
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Expected Life |
Residential – 20 years May have to be sanded and re-finished depending on traffic. Commercial – 10 years |
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Indicative Costs |
Contact distributor for pricing |
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Purchase Options |
Cash purchase, or 30-day account for trade customers |
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Constituents |
Bamboo 98% Glue 2% |
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Technical Specifications |
Average hardness of 1820 (Janka ball test) Average Moisture content 7.8% Compressive Strength Parallel to Grain: 7600 PSI Compressive Strength Perpendicular to Grain: 2624 PSI Tensile Strength: 15,300 Parallel to Grain |
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National & International Standards |
E1 Certificate (Low VOC) |
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Country of Origin |
China |
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Projects |
Radisson Hotel wellness centre, Cape Town One-Wellness gym, Sandton, Johannesburg Hollow On The Square Hotel. Cape Town |
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Preparation |
As per conventional timber flooring and furniture manufacture. |
ECOSPECIFIER LIFE-CYCLE ASSESSMENT
INTEGRATED DESIGN AND POLICY ISSUES
Wood-based products are based on a renewable resource, have low embodied energy and sequester carbon. Bamboo has an added advantage of being a high-yield renewable resource, with a harvest time of 3-5 years, as opposed to 10-20 years for most softwoods. It is exceptionally strong, with a tensile strength rivaling steel. It's light, durable and tough formation makes it useful for many purposes, including flooring and furniture board. The strand woven products average 25% harder than Red Oak and 12% harder than North American Maple with a Janka test results averaging 1820 and are more suitable for high wear and commercial applications.
HUMAN HEALTH
Health
The product emits low levels of formaldehyde. See glossary for information on formaldehyde and associated health issues.
Comfort
Not Applicable
Indoor Environment Quality
The product emits low levels of formaldehyde (under 0.1 mg/L). Formaldehyde may be released under some conditions, particularly when the boards are heated and laminated, or cut by laser cutting machines. However, in well ventilated storage areas and workplaces, the concentration of formaldehyde is unlikely to exceed the World Health Organisation Standard of 0.1ppm for the general environment.
Electromagnetic Radiation
Not applicable
Safety
No known safety issues
Accessibility
Product facilitates universal access as wheeled traffic is able to easily move over the surface, compared to carpet surfaces where the nap of the carpet makes objects difficult to steer.
ECOLOGICAL QUALITY
Terrestrial
Emissions – Responsibly grown and managed bamboo forests sequester more CO2 than they emit during their growing phase. Bamboo products are carbon sinks, whereas most other products produce net carbon emissions such as aluminium, plastic and steel and fabricated bamboo flooring and furniture boards are able to lock carbon into building structures.
Physical – Bamboo is capable of being harvested with limited physical impact to the terrestrial environment because the plant is not killed and roots continue to hold topsoil and prevent erosion. Minor land impacts are derived from transportation and processing and manufacturing waste.
Aquatic
Emissions – There may be minor emissions from waste water if used in processing and treatment.
Physical – There are no known physical impacts to aquatic environments from this product.
Atmosphere
Greenhouse (GHG) – Bamboo is a carbon sink and will result in locking carbon into a building structure despite carbon emissions from its transport and production.
Greenhouse intensity – Unknown
Transport intensity – Product is manufactured in China. GHG intensities for shipping product are shown below. Shipping port from country of origin is Shanghai. Destination port is Cape Town. Does the product reduce transport greenhouse emissions?
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Product weight |
Distance to destination port |
Energy Intensity - Container Shipping |
GHG Intensity - Container Shipping |
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6.75kg / per m2 Flooring |
14 055km |
0.000135MJ / kg.km |
0.000011kgCO2e / kg.km |
Greenhouse Intensity for Container Shipping of strand woven flooring – 1.04 kgCO2e / m2
Table below provides land transportation greenhouse intensity figures to help calculate the greenhouse gas intensity of land transportation from shipping port.
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Light commercial vehicle |
Rigid Truck |
Articulated Truck |
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0.001451kgCO2e / kg.km |
0.000195kgCO2e / kg.km |
0.000169kgCO2e / kg.km |
Transport intensity figures sourced from Australian National Greenhouse Gas Inventory 1990, 1995 and 1999 and WWF International, Inland Navigations and Emissions, 2005.
Operational efficiency – Bamboo is durable and similar in strength, hardness, insect resistance and maintenance to comparable materials such as hardwood flooring.
Re-use Efficiency – Product can be reused if in acceptable condition and depending on original method of installation. Recyclability is limited due to the use of glue.
Toxics and Pollutants – No known toxic or pollutant emissions to the atmosphere.
Ozone Depletion – Not applicable
Urban Heat Island Effects – Not applicable
Noise – Not applicable
Biodiversity
The use of bamboo rather than traditional hardwood flooring reduces the biodiversity impacts from logging.
While bamboo is the food source of endangered pandas there is no impact on pandas due to the fact that the bamboo used to manufacture the flooring i.e. ‘Mao or Moso Bamboo’ is not the preferred food source of Pandas that eat ‘Jian Bamboo’.
RESOURCE DEPLETION
Resource Efficiency
Bamboo is a sustainable, fast growing, rapidly renewable flooring alternative to timber sourced from old growth or rain forests. Bamboo is a grass that can be harvested every 4-5 years (some species grow 18m in 90 days) in contrast to 40-60 years for hardwoods. A single Bamboo clump can produce up to 15 kilometres of usable pole (up to 30 cm in diameter) in its lifetime.
Embodied Fossil Fuel Energy
Unknown
Transport intensity – Product is manufactured in China. Energy intensities for shipping product are shown below. Shipping port from country of origin is Shanghai. Destination port is Cape Town or Durban.
Energy Intensity for Container Shipping of Strand Woven Flooring – 12.8MJ / per m2
Embodied Water
Unknown
Durability
High, expected lifetime 10-20 years.
Reusability
Product can be reused depending on installation and condition after removal. Product can be sanded and refinished to remove wear.
Repairability
Yes, affected boards can be removed and replaced. Surface damage can be repaired through sanding and refinishing.
Design for Dematerialisation
No
Design for Disassembly
Some of the flooring products can be disassembled and used elsewhere, depending on installation method.
Recyclability
Limited recyclability due to the use of glues
Maintenance
Periodic waxing or oiling
Product Takeback Scheme
No
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)
None
CORPORATE AND SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY
Audits and Environmental Reporting
No
Convictions
No
Environmental Policy
Yes
Social Enhancement Programs
No
Technology Transfer Programs
No
Environmental Management Systems (EMS)
Yes, ISO 14001
ECOSPECIFIER ISSUES OF CONCERN / RED LIGHTS
The product contains formaldehyde resins. Formaldehyde is classified as carcinogenic to humans by the IARC. However the product has low emissions of formaldehyde (provided product is not exposed to heat to create gas) as the resin is cured by heat and pressure, binding the ingredients together and is therefore not considered to be of high risk. The product contains less than 0.01% of free formaldehyde.
ECOSPECIFIER GREENRATE GREEN BUILDING SCHEME PRE-ASSESSMENT
Green Star SA™ Office Version 1
INDOOR ENVIRONMENT QUALITY
IEQ-13: Volatile Organic Compounds: Carpets and Flooring
IEQ-14 Note 1: Formaldehyde Minimisation
Green Star SA™ Retail Centre Version 1
INDOOR ENVIRONMENT QUALITY
IEQ-13: Volatile Organic Compounds: Carpets and Flooring
IEQ-14: Formaldehyde Minimisation
NOTE: the following tools have not been adopted in South Africa but are included for information purposes:
Green Star™ Australia Multi Unit Residential Version 1 Compatibility
INDOOR ENVIRONMENT QUALITY
IEQ-8: Volatile Organic Compounds: Carpets and Flooring
IEQ-9: Formaldehyde Minimisation
Green Star™ Australia Interiors Version 1.1 Compatibility
INDOOR ENVIRONMENT QUALITY
IEQ-11 Note 1: Volatile Organic Compounds: Carpets and Flooring
IEQ-12 Note 1: Formaldehyde Minimisation
MATERIALS
Green Star™ Australia Education Version 1 Compatibility
INDOOR ENVIRONMENT QUALITY
IEQ-12 Note 1: Volatile Organic Compounds: Carpets and Flooring
IEQ-13 Note 1: Formaldehyde Minimisation
MATERIALS
Green Star™ Australia Healthcare Compatibility
INDOOR ENVIRONMENT QUALITY
IEQ-8 Note 1: Volatile Organic Compounds: Carpets and Flooring
IEQ-9 Note 1: Formaldehyde Minimisation
MATERIALS
Green Star™ Australia Industrial Compatibility
INDOOR ENVIRONMENT QUALITY
IEQ-8: Volatile Organic Compounds
IEQ-9 Note 1: Formaldehyde Minimisation
Green Star SA TM is a registered mark of the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA). Assessments shall not be reproduced in part at any time. This listing constitutes an Ecospecifier Technical Opinion and is not endorsed by the GBCSA or its agents. For detailed technical information about Credit requirements refer to Green Star SATM Technical Manuals. Rating Tools and Technical Manuals are subject to change by the GBCSA, and any decision regarding the award of credits towards a Green Star SATM rating is at the sole discretion of the GBCSA.
ASSESSMENT COMPARISON
Hardwood Timber Flooring
KEYWORDS / ALTERNATIVES
floating floor, strip flooring, rapidly renewable resource,
RELATED TOPICS
Bamboo, Carbon Sequestration
RELATED KNOWLEDGE BASE ARTICLES
Ecospecifier Eco Priority Guide: Floor Surfaces
Ecospecifier Eco Priority Guide: Timber and Wood Products
Ecospecifier Eco Priority Guide: Adhesives, Tapes and Fasteners
CSI / SPECPACK CATEGORY & NUMBER
09 62 23 Bamboo Flooring
NATSPEC CATEGORY AND NUMBER
0551 Joinery
0655 Timber Flooring
Availability:
South Africa
Assessment Criteria Satisfied
© ecospecifier 2012
Suppliers:Panda Bamboo Products
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