Students from the State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ) are taking advantage of the banana stalk to develop BananaPlac, a colorful laminate that can be used for furniture, walls, car panels, among other things, replacing traditional formica. “It's an ecological product whose raw materials — plant fibers and resins — are biodegradable and are cold pressed, consuming little energy,” says Bernardo Ferracioli, a partner at Fibra Sustainable Design, founded by the UERJ industrial design students who created BananaPlac.

Production will be fomented among small cooperative factories, as a means to increase incomes in the communities that produce bananas, which tend to be poor.