An promoting company and an area Chinese language non secular items dealer declare to have developed a brand new sort of juice paper that reduces the environmental impression of conventional paper burning throughout Chinese language non secular festivals in Singapore.
“Eco Hell Be aware” Burns rapidly with out producing ash, providing an “eco-friendly different” to incineration Jose Paper, in accordance with a press launch from advert company Mullen Lowe.
The brand new juice is constructed from paperitrocellulose, a extremely flammable compound made by treating cellulose with a mix of nitric acid and sulfuric acid. It’s the primary ingredient in fashionable gunpowder.
Echo Hill Be aware reaches as much as King Kong Pageant, when paper is historically burned to honor lifeless family. The observe usually creates complaints about smog and air air pollution within the city-state’s surrounding areas.
The brand new paper cash was created by Mullen Lowe for native juice paper wholesaler Ban Kah Hiang Buying and selling, one in all Singapore’s oldest Chinese language non secular items retailers, beneath the preliminary identify Base Genesis.
Mullen Lowe couldn’t present information on the relative emissions of EcoHeal Be aware in comparison with standard paper, however mentioned that as a result of nitrocellulose-based paper produces no ash and minimal residue, it has a small environmental footprint.
Chatting with Eco-Enterprise on Wednesday, the proprietor of Ban Kah Hiang Buying and selling, X Teo, mentioned the nitrocellulose-based word was a “trial” to check if the market would settle for the product.
Air air pollution resolution or advertising and marketing gimmick?
In response to questions from Eco-Enterprise in regards to the viability of the decreased smoke paper, Mullen Lowe mentioned the Eco Hill Be aware is “accessible for pre-order”, with a roll-out of the product deliberate for this yr’s Hungarian Ghost Pageant. In August.
Daniel Kass, senior vice chairman for environmental, local weather and concrete well being at air high quality nonprofit Very important Methods, mentioned that whereas nitrocellulose paper, often known as flash paper, It does not produce particulate air pollution the way in which common paper does, it burns a lot hotter and far sooner—which may trigger security hazards.
“Most flash paper is utilized in magic tips and is small. It burns so rapidly that there’s little threat of igniting anything. A big piece of paper, as is the case with this product, can ignite neighboring issues if not cautious,” he mentioned.
“I would fear about facial and scalp hair catching on fireplace, and I would be doubly frightened about it igniting within the presence of different flames, together with hairspray residue (which is flammable) or some other ignition supply. within the. I additionally wish to guarantee that it isn’t getting used indoors,” he added.
Any such jasper paper would should be saved in air-tight containers in a moist surroundings to stop the potential for unintended or unintended staining from warmth sources, Kass mentioned.
Mullen Lowe instructed Eco-Enterprise that whereas a security allow just isn’t required to burn the eco-hell word, it ought to solely be burned in designated areas to make sure “accountable juice paper burning.”
There are questions on the involvement of an promoting company to develop the product. Businesses have beforehand been criticized for creating one-off gimmicks that tackle social and environmental points so as to win artistic awards.
A basic instance of this was an app created by a Singaporean promoting company that claimed to have the ability to find refugees stranded within the Mediterranean Sea. The app, which gained the award, turned out to be pretend.