More and more towns and cities in the Netherlands are having their aluminium road signs replaced by sustainable signs made of bamboo. In doing so, they are following the example of Den Bosch, where a trial of the signs was conducted for the first time in 2017.
Rotterdam is the latest in the line of municipalities switching to bamboo road signs. Especially in recent months, dozens of towns and cities chose to replace the aluminium road signs for a sustainable variant. By doing so, they want to show that sustainability is high on the agenda.
In 2017, a trial was launched in Den Bosch with a number of test specimens. Since October, Amsterdam has installed 650 bamboo road signs, also a pilot. You can also find bamboo traffic signs in Amstelveen, Bloemendaal, Coevorden, Dordrecht, IJmuiden, Rijswijk and Utrecht. The Hague installed 57 bamboo street name signs in the Hofkwartier district last December, while in Voorschoten in Zuid-Holland all aluminium signs in the city centre are currently making way for bamboo copies.
Climate neutral
Many of the signs were developed by HR Group in cooperation with bamboo manufacturer Moso. To AD.nl, Hans Heijmans, bamboo specialist at HR Groep, says: "We wanted to work more sustainably and started looking for materials other than aluminium." He also explains that bamboo is completely climate-neutral. "Bamboo absorbs 400 kilograms of CO2 per cubic metre. By contrast, the production of aluminium from bauxite emits 33,000 kilograms of CO2 per cubic metre."
Also, a road sign made of bamboo, which is not wood but a type of grass, is more robust than an aluminium sign; it lasts longer because the sign is impregnated with a moisture- and fungicide. It is a very strong material, especially due to its hardness, density and stability. HR Group therefore offers a 20-year warranty on bamboo road signs, eight years more than on an aluminium sign. "Actually, a bamboo sign can last a quarter of a century, but the foil with the traffic regulation does not last that long," Heijmans told AD.nl. The sign can also be fitted with a sensor that detects movement.
Higher price
A disadvantage of bamboo signs is that they are more expensive to buy, about 30 per cent more expensive than an aluminium sign. Nevertheless, most municipalities say that the higher price will not stop them from choosing bamboo signs. This is mainly due to the fact that municipalities see the signs as a way to be able to show their sustainability efforts to residents. This is because it is immediately noticeable that the sign is made of bamboo.
Incidentally, the AD also reports that HR Groep, which has been making road signs for forty years, is working on even more sustainable materials. For instance, they are also considering whether traffic signs can be made of flax and hemp.
Source: AD.nl
Photo: HR Groep
