It is high time to stop using polythene bags and switch to sustainable alternatives, even without forceful actions from the government. We are witnessing plastic littering all over.
If anyone takes a walk from home, I am certain that littering of polythene bags would be seen. What do you feel after watching that? Most of the time the plastic littering is in a way that one would avoid choosing that path again for a walk.
Sideways of highways and roads, common plots, empty spaces, food streets, areas near dump yards, surrounding garbage bins, etc. are highly polluted and full of plastic waste.
Some luxurious societies would be very neat and clean, they even construct big walls to keep the nuisance away. But, one can not have an exclusive atmosphere until we find another planet like the Earth. There is no exclusivity here, everyone has to face the consequences of climate change, the greenhouse effect and global warming.
We are all experiencing it and know everything about it, but ignore to act on it. As a parent, we are working hard to create physical wealth, so that our next generations can live a good life. Then what about environmental wealth? Are we piling up plastic waste and all other harmful nuisance for them? Air, water and soil are important and essential natural resources and they are no more clean. Are we going to give this to the next generations? Microplastics are found in the human body. Now think about it, do we need forceful restrictions on single-use plastics?
The Indian government is imposing more restrictions on single-use plastics from July 1, 2022. Currently, polythene less than 75-micron thickness is banned all over India and polythene less than 120-micron thickness bags will be banned from December 31, 2022.
Currently, people have started looking for sustainable alternatives for polythene bags. Compostable bags made of compostable plastics are one of the best alternatives currently available. Bags including carry bags, D-cut bags, garbage bags, grocery bags, shopping bags, vegetable bags, garment bags, zip-lock bags, medical waste bags, packaging bags, etc. can be easily replaced with compostable bags.
The cost of compostable material is almost double of petrochemical-based plastics. But, there are no thickness restrictions on compostable bags like polythene bags. So, the cost can be easily overcome by the thickness difference. Generally, bags require 20-30 micron thickness for its maximum load-carrying capacity, due to government restrictions it needs to be increased to 75 micron.
Whereas, compostable bags made of 20-30 microns are 10-15% cheaper than polythene bags made of 75-micron thickness. Hence, it is easy to implement sustainable solutions for polythene bags.
But, this is only possible when everyone follows the rule, even today manufacturers are producing banned polythene bags (less than 75-micron thickness).
It can be manufactured from the traditional monolayer/multilayer blow film machine by changing raw material with compostable granules. Only process parameters need to be changed for compostable plastics. The film roll can also be used in traditional cutting, sealing and printing machines to make a finished bag. CPCB certifications are required to sell compostable bags in Indian market.
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