bioplasticsMAGAZINE_0906

News
New Joint Venture
in India
A new bioplastics joint venture will be the first of its kind
in India, where Earthsoul India Private Limited, through its
promoters the Bilimoria family, will hold 60% and the balance
of 40% will be held by the state-owned J&K Agro Industries
Development Corporation Ltd, led by Dr. G. N. Qasba, managing
director.
Earthsoul India have been the pioneers in India since 2002
for 100% compostable and biodegradable packaging materials
made from renewable raw materials such as waste stream
starch. Market leaders in the field of biopolymer products, they
have been associated with Novamont (Italy) for the past 8 years.
J&K Agro Industries Development Corporation Ltd has been
involved in the manufacture of food products, cattle feed, etc
in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The corporation is also
proactively engaged in the agricultural and irrigation sectors,
as distributors and facilitators in the supply of machinery and
equipment, fertilizers, mulching films for greenhouses etc.
The two organisations are convinced that they have the
necessary synergies to group together in order to foster and
grow the bioplastics industry in India and South East Asia.
Currently the bioplastics industry worldwide has been enjoying
a growth rate of approximately 20% per year.
The joint venture has earmarked an existing manufacturing
facility, owned by J&K, at Sidco Industrial Area, Bari Brahmna,
which is classified as an industrially backward area. The head
office of the joint venture company will be situated at Srinagar.
Equipped with state-of-the-art plant and machinery, both
domestic and imported, the facility will have a capacity of
approximately 50 tonnes per month and will be J&K’s first
carbon neutral manufacturing facility.
The designated executive chairman of the new joint venture,
Perses M. Bilimoria, is a well-known bioplastics personality
in India. He was the first significant introducer of biopolymer
products into India and has been on various committees of the
Ministry of Enviroment and Forests, New Delhi, for plastics
in waste management and on the BIS committee, New Delhi,
for adopting international standards on compostable and
biodegradable raw materials, made from renewable resources.
The company will be managed by a team of professionals
chosen by the board of directors from a wide spectrum of the
manufacturing industry.
The product range of the new company comprises 100%
compostable and biodegradable bags, mulching films for
agriculture, nursery pots and sapling bags for the horticulture
and floriculture markets.
The facility is due to commence trial production in 12/09 and
to enter the commercial market before 03/10. MT
www.jkagro.com, www.earthsoulindia.com
Plastics in the
North Pacific Gyre
Commenting on Project Kaisei‘s findings on
plastics in the North Pacific Gyre, the British
Plastics Federation (BPF) believes that plastics
litter is far too common in the marine environment,
it should not be there and more effort is needed by
all concerned to ensure good waste management
on shore and on vessels, and to provide education
on littering. Furthermore, the Federation wishes to
draw attention to a major initiative it has recently
launched to stop any loss of plastics raw material
into the environment.
The United Nations Environmental programme‘s
report last year pointed to the difficulties in
obtaining accurate information but to tackle the
problem of all waste in the oceans they called for:
integrated waste management to tackle litter; raise
public awareness and education; improved port
waste collection facilities; and stronger economic
incentives, fines, and enforcement.
The BPF supports all these objectives and
recently launched an initiative in the UK called
‘Operation Clean Sweep - Plastic Pellet Loss
Prevention’, to ensure that raw material does not
escape into the environment. The BPF hopes to
get the commitment of every company, from top
management to shop floor employees to use the
Operation Clean Sweep manual on prevention,
containment and clean up of plastic materials to
ensure no escape into the environment.
Peter Davis, BPF Director-General says: “The
Plastics industry does not put plastic into the seas.
This is caused by littering, illegal dumping, poor
waste management. We want the plastic back to be
recycled or provide much needed energy through
energy from waste combustion. International cooperation
is needed to make this work, it is a global
problem.”
Concerning so-called ‘oxo-biodegradable’
plastics the BPF believes that littering is a
behavioural issue and not one related or confined
to the use of specific materials. MT
www.bpf.co.uk
bioplastics MAGAZINE [06/09] Vol. 4 7