Starch bags: an alternative to plastic ones

Made from corn starch, these bags claim to be 30 per cent stronger

With ‘Go- Green' being the latest mantra among an increasingly environmentally aware population, it is not surprising that companies are pushing the boundaries to find ‘greener' alternatives.

One such innovative product to hit the Indian markets is Corn Starch Bags. The biodegradable bags are being manufactured from 100 per cent corn starch and claimed to be 30 per cent stronger than the existing polythene bags.

The raw material ‘Biolice' by Greendiamz Biotech is currently being imported from France by Pune-based Balson Industries, said Amit Ambedkar, proprietor of Ojas Industries, the sole distributor for the company here. The bags will be sold under the brand name ‘True Green' he informed.

The company hopes to produce the raw material locally by 2013 as “currently, there is a patent on this technology. Once that period is over, we hope to produce this at a local level thereby cutting down costs and energy spent on importing it,” Mr. Ambedkar says.

‘Biolice', the raw material is extracted from existing corn produce.

“This is then converted into pellets, similar to plastic pellets and later into different products such as bags,” he informs. The bags apart from being stronger are also resistant to fats, water and most organic solvents.

Pointing out that the starch bags are currently priced at three and half times more than the plastic bags, he feels the acceptability of such products depends a lot on the price.

“Plastic bags are so ingrained in our day-to-day lives that from the poor to the rich all depend on these for carrying anything. It would take some time before starch bags become affordable,” he says. One corn starch bag is priced at Rs. 15 currently.

Garbage bag

However, one of their products – a starch garbage bag seems to have found its takers. Priced at Rs. 110 for a roll of 30 bags, the garbage bags with organic wet waste can be directly dumped into a compost pit. The bags would decompose in 12 weeks, Mr. Ambedkar informed.

While the product itself is an eco-friendly option to plastic and paper bags, he feels it would take some time before the demand for such alternatives increases. “When we initially manufactured biodegradable plastics in 2005, there was a demand for just 200 kg a month.

Now we are manufacturing 10 tonnes a month. So this too would take time,” he says.

Currently the bags are available in convenience stores in Pune and Ahmedabad and would, in the coming months, be available in Hyderabad and other cities.

They bags are being marketed by the Protecterra Ecological Foundation.

For details contact amitambedkar@gmail.com or pooja@protecterraef.org .

• ‘Biolice', the raw material, is extracted from corn and made into pellets and later into bags
• One corn starch bag is priced at Rs. 15, garbage bags are priced at Rs. 110 for a roll of 30