Green substitute for plastic carry bags to hit Puducherry market

PUDUCHERRY: An eco-friendly firm will launch photodegradable bags in an effort to substitute ecologically-hazardous plastic carry bags here and adjoining districts of Tamil Nadu. SM Green Solutions (SMGS), Chennai, which has entered into a collaboration with GXT Green, United States to market the eco-friendly carry bags in south India, will formally launch the product on Thursday at Anandha Inn.
SMGS managing partner Manoj Srinivas claimed that these bags are made from an entirely new compound, calcium olefinic glucosate. "If littered or lost, these bags degrade to a non-toxic residue. These bags use less resources and will start breaking up in 40 days and completely degrade within 240 days of exposure to sunlight. The bags can then further biodegrade," he said.
He claimed that Central institute of plastics, engineering and technology, Chennai and Shri Ram institute of industrial research, Delhi have certified the degradable properties of the new product. The Indian subsidiary of the US firm had already launched the product in New Delhi, Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana besides Chennai. "The response is very good particularly in places where plastic carry bags have been banned," said Manoj.
The Indian subsidiary established roughly at a cost of Rs50 crore, has set up five factories in New Delhi. It proposes units in Coimbatore and Chennai shortly. Further explaining the advantages of the product he said the production results in lesser emission (34% less than production of plastic carry bags) of greenhouse gas. "Unlike other types of degradable bags these bags do not leave any toxic residue when they degrade," he claimed.
If plastic carry bags take up to 400 years to degrade paper bags are no better. "It takes approximately four times as much energy to manufacture a paper bag than it does to manufacture a plastic bag. Moreover manufacturing paper bags generates more air pollution and results in water pollution by more than 50 times than manufacturing plastic bags," he said.
The manufacturers claimed that the bags cost almost similar to plastic bags. All Pondicherry Plastic Traders and Manufacturers' Association president S Babu said several products with claims of biodegradable and photo-degradable properties have been periodically launched. "We have to check the veracity of their claims scientifically. If their claims are proved and again if they promise that the product can be manufactured in existing plastic bag manufacturing lines without any change in tooling we are ready to embrace the technology," he said.