Can’t Find a Suitable Replacement to Plastic Bags? Here’s Your Solution

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on January 2, 2018. However, a year later we received a notification from the Central Pollution Control Board indicating that the compostable bags being sold by BioGreen have not been certified as compostable by the Board. The notification can be read here. 

Therefore, The Better India is retracting this article with a sincere apology to all of our readers for the error. 

The original article can be found below: 

The ban on plastics in 17 states and Union territories in India was welcomed by everyone, but although this ban was imposed with a vision of a greater good, it led to a slight inconvenience for consumers due to the unavailability of materials that could carry all functions of plastic.

An inconvenience like this led to the innovation of plastic-like bags made from biodegradable raw materials.

29-year-old Mohammed Sadiq is a businessman and investor from Bangalore who launched a company named BioGreen bags.

The company manufactures environmental friendly bags that you can use in place of plastic bags.

“The Karnataka Government imposed a complete ban on all plastic and plastic products in the state on March 11, 2016, without actually giving the people alternatives so that they can carry various essentials without any hassle,” says Mohammed.

“When I went to purchase groceries, the paper bag carrying the milk packet began to disintegrate as soon as it came in contact with the moisture from the packet.

I looked for alternatives myself, and when I was unable to find an inexpensive one, BioGreen was born!”

A 2016 survey shows that India generates more than 15,000 tonnes of plastic on a daily basis of which 40% remains littered on streets. Replacing plastic bags with a material that functions exactly like it, but guarantees zero harm to the environment, might help in reducing such waste.

BioGreen bags are made from natural starch, vegetable oil derivatives, and vegetable waste. Raw materials are collected and converted to pellets which are then processed into thin films so they can be moulded into bags.

The organisation was founded with the vision of replacing raw materials of oil and petroleum with biodegradable material.

“The products are non-toxic to the environment, animals, and plants. Our carry bags contain no conventional plastics,” says Mohammed. It aims to replace all disposable plastics with high quality, innovative products that lower our dependence on oil and lower our carbon footprint.

Rising consciousness about the degradation of nature due to non-degradable products has led to corporations leaning more towards eco-friendly products. The worldwide awareness about such degradation helped BioGreen find clients in Botswana, Kenya, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Italy, Denmark, USA, and Canada etc. Their products are set to launch in India on 30th January.

You can check out the product range and prices of BioGreen bags here.

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