Daily Mirror
Monday, June 02, 2008
Plastic Packaging (Pte) Ltd of Ratmalana which introduced oxo-biodegradable bags in 2003, has now come up with a significant bag without polythene which is compostable and biodegradable. The bag called ‘NaturPlus’ comes as a result of years of research and trial productions.
Plastic Pakaging Chief Mervyn Dias said he was keen to manufacture such a bag without polythene – the main ingredient that has become a global menace in terms of environmental pollution.
The launch of the bag was held at a simple ceremony in Mount Lavinia last week and the event also marked the loading of the first few cartoons to a container bound to Britain.
The bags have been ordered by Britain and Plastic Pakaging will be shipping the people-friendly, environment friendly bags to Britain regularly.
However it was shocking to note that despite this is being seen as a major breakthrough that would prevent environment pollution to great extent, no officials from the Environment Ministry was present at the event which highlighted the plus points of the bag.
Mr. Dias is in the process of promoting this bag (NaturPlus) to the export market but he said he would be glad to supply them to the local market if there was a request.
“There is a huge global demand for such environment-friendly bags. I am even prepared to share the know-how with any Sri Lanka factory who likes to produce such bags which is crucial to save our beautiful country,” he said.
About 230 million tonnes of garbage is generated annually worldwide and this has created a huge problem of disposal as most of these are not compostable, biodegradable and the waste contain non-biodegradable plastics like plastics bags, bottles and tin cans. This special bag gives the people an option to choose a biodegradable plastic solution, he said.
Actually non-bio-degradable products cannot be disposed to land filling as they will only pollute the soil and remain in the soil for thousands of years. Also it is obvious that all plastics cannot be separated and recycled due to practical problems. Therefore the best and only solution is composting. This new bag has answers to the burning problem of the world.
Composting is nature’s way of recycling. Composting refers to refers to a solid waste management technique which uses natural processes to convert organic materials to humus through the action microorganisms. Compost is s mixture that consists largely of decayed organic matter and is used for fertilizing and conditioning land. These bags will undergo biological decomposition in a compost site, that is not visually distinguishable and breaks down to carbon dioxide, water, inorganic compounds and biomass at a rate consistent with known compostable material like cellulose leaving no toxic residue.
What are compostable bags?
These are bags that break down in a composting environment by natural means, back into simple elements carbon, oxygen and hydrogen. Compostable products comply with the European standards EN 13432 which was introduced in 2000. This ensures that 90% of the product is composted within a period of 12 weeks and that the resulting humus created during the composting process is of good quality.
These bags are shelf stable, just like paper plates or paper towels. There are no chemical additives to enhance decomposition. The bags biodegrade naturally when exposed to the earth’s elements and micro-organisms in the soil.
These bags ‘breathe’, which allows heat and moisture to escape or evaporate. This feature reduces bacterial build-up of collected waste, thus reducing odour.
These bags will decompose in a composting environment in 10 to 45 days, leaving no harmful residues.
These bags will decompose in a natural setting at an extended rate compared to other naturally biodegradable material like paper, leaves or food waste, said Mervyn Dias who could be contacted on 0777 396679 for further information.
Dr. Gamini Seneviratne – Research Professor of the Institute of Fundamental Studies, Kandy and Ceylon National Chamber of Industries Technical Manager Nihal Cooray also addressed the gathering on biodegradation of natural polymers and the importance of alternative material for manufacturing bags.