Plastic bag ban remains only on paper, says KSPCB chief
Staff Reporter
Bangalore: Despite the ban on plastic bags with less than 20 microns thickness, the State Government has not been able to prevent the use and disposal of this environmentally hazardous material, A.S. Sadashivaiah, Chairman of Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, has said.
Karnataka has failed to regulate the material on two counts — first in preventing the plastic bags from entering the State (either from other States or from local manufacturers); and second, in safely disposing of the material, Mr. Sadashivaiah said on Monday. He was speaking at a national workshop on Plastic Waste Management Strategies for a Clean Environment, organised by the Central Institute of Plastics Engineering and Technology (CIPET).
In Bangalore, for instance, 80 per cent of the 150 tonnes of plastic waste disposed of everyday comprises plastic bags thinner than 20 microns. “This goes unsegregated at the domestic level and is not picked up by waste collectors either as it cannot be recycled,” he said. Mr. Sadashivaiah added that district vigilance teams, made up of environmental officers and headed by Deputy Commissioners, set up to monitor pollution, have been instructed to be “more vigilant” about the use and disposal of plastic bags.
Plastic ‘singled out'
Expressing a rather contrary view, Director-General of CIPET S.K. Nayak said that plastic was being “singled out” as the cause of all environmental woes. “Plastic bags happen to be colourful and fly around, which is probably why they are more conspicuous than other pollutants,” he said. Mr. Nayak added that plastic consumed less energy during production than paper, and produced less greenhouse gases when disposed of. It was important, he said, however, that plastic be managed through the collaborative efforts of the government, private companies and non-government organisations.
Kanwar Pal, Secretary, Department of Ecology and Environment, said that banning plastic was no solution and added that the answer to the menace lay in efficient management and in following the motto of reduce, reuse, recover and recycle. A worrying trend was the burning of plastic as it released harmful chemicals such as and Benzo(a)Pyrene and toxic dioxides.
Tuesday, 30 March 2010
Sunday, 7 March 2010
Times Online March 7th
Aloha! We can clear up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Michael Stephen, deputy chairman of Symphony Environmental, explains how he can bring back Hawaii’s golden sands
ONCE a five-mile stretch of golden sand, Kamilo beach on the island of Hawaii has become a huge rubbish dump of carrier bags, cigarette lighters, broken toys and other discarded plastic that scars the landscape and could cause lasting damage to the environment.
A British company is aiming to make such detritus a thing of the past. Symphony Environmental has created a substance that can be added to plastic materials to speed up their degradation time from several decades to just a few months.
“We call it superfast biodegradation. All plastic will eventually biodegrade but our technology dramatically accelerates the process,” said Michael Stephen, deputy chairman of Symphony.
The litter that washes up on Kamilo mostly comes from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, an area of the ocean estimated by some to be twice the size of Texas, where 100m tonnes of floating plastic rubbish poses a threat to thousands of marine animals.
Symphony, based in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, claims most plastic made with its technology would degrade before it ever reached that part of the world.
The special additive, called d2w, is put into plastic products when they are being manufactured. It works by weakening the carbon bonds, lowering the material’s molecular weight and eventually causing a loss of strength. The plastic can be given a set lifespan, depending on what purpose it is ultimately intended for.
“The point of this is that a bin liner, for example, may require a useful life of 18 months before beginning to lose its strength, whereas a bread bag may require only a few weeks,” said Stephen.
It has been a fight to get the company where it is today.
Founded in 1995, it began creating the technology in partnership with EPI, the environmental products group, in 1998. Their agreement was scrapped in 2003 and EPI tried in the High Court to prevent Symphony going it alone. The claims were dismissed, leaving Symphony free to market and develop its technology.
The recent switch to a licensing model has helped the AIM-listed business make a small profit for the first time. The d2w logo now appears on plastic packaging in 70 countries for companies including Sony and Nokia. In Britain, Barclays, Tesco and JD Sports use Symphony products.
The company has faced stern opposition from rivals. The plastics industry is split into two camps — those that back “oxo-biodegradable” products, such as the d2w range, which break down with exposure to air alone; and those that back “bio-degradable” goods, which rely on specific conditions, such as burial in the ground, to kick-start the process.
“It has been a vicious war and sadly in some cases the bio-producers have convinced British farmers that crop-based plastics are best,” said Stephen. “That is wrong, though, because when they are recycled they give off methane [a potent greenhouse gas].”
He said Symphony is working on a superfast version of its technology that will allow plastics to degrade in less than a month.
Michael Stephen, deputy chairman of Symphony Environmental, explains how he can bring back Hawaii’s golden sands
ONCE a five-mile stretch of golden sand, Kamilo beach on the island of Hawaii has become a huge rubbish dump of carrier bags, cigarette lighters, broken toys and other discarded plastic that scars the landscape and could cause lasting damage to the environment.
A British company is aiming to make such detritus a thing of the past. Symphony Environmental has created a substance that can be added to plastic materials to speed up their degradation time from several decades to just a few months.
“We call it superfast biodegradation. All plastic will eventually biodegrade but our technology dramatically accelerates the process,” said Michael Stephen, deputy chairman of Symphony.
The litter that washes up on Kamilo mostly comes from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, an area of the ocean estimated by some to be twice the size of Texas, where 100m tonnes of floating plastic rubbish poses a threat to thousands of marine animals.
Symphony, based in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, claims most plastic made with its technology would degrade before it ever reached that part of the world.
The special additive, called d2w, is put into plastic products when they are being manufactured. It works by weakening the carbon bonds, lowering the material’s molecular weight and eventually causing a loss of strength. The plastic can be given a set lifespan, depending on what purpose it is ultimately intended for.
“The point of this is that a bin liner, for example, may require a useful life of 18 months before beginning to lose its strength, whereas a bread bag may require only a few weeks,” said Stephen.
It has been a fight to get the company where it is today.
Founded in 1995, it began creating the technology in partnership with EPI, the environmental products group, in 1998. Their agreement was scrapped in 2003 and EPI tried in the High Court to prevent Symphony going it alone. The claims were dismissed, leaving Symphony free to market and develop its technology.
The recent switch to a licensing model has helped the AIM-listed business make a small profit for the first time. The d2w logo now appears on plastic packaging in 70 countries for companies including Sony and Nokia. In Britain, Barclays, Tesco and JD Sports use Symphony products.
The company has faced stern opposition from rivals. The plastics industry is split into two camps — those that back “oxo-biodegradable” products, such as the d2w range, which break down with exposure to air alone; and those that back “bio-degradable” goods, which rely on specific conditions, such as burial in the ground, to kick-start the process.
“It has been a vicious war and sadly in some cases the bio-producers have convinced British farmers that crop-based plastics are best,” said Stephen. “That is wrong, though, because when they are recycled they give off methane [a potent greenhouse gas].”
He said Symphony is working on a superfast version of its technology that will allow plastics to degrade in less than a month.
Saturday, 6 March 2010
Latest developments
JAMMU & KASHMIR
Luibeg are delighted to announce that 21st Century Packaging of Delhi – an ISO 9001-2000 Certified Company and major plastic manufacturer has made an important break-through in supplying d2w oxo-biodegradable bags and packaging to a number of customers in Jammu & Kashmir. Through the magnificent efforts of the 21st Century Packaging Team, Luibeg are the first Organization to introduce the oxo- biodegradable technology to this Region.
21st Century Packaging has been supplying d2w products to major customers in Jammu & Kashmir for over 12 months and product samples have been fully and successfully tested by Symphony Environmental Ltd in the U.K.
Further information will be released shortly regarding the customers who use d2w products.
IN ADDITION
To further our development and prominence in Jammu & Kashmir, Luibeg are very pleased to confirm that we have appointed Swastik Packaging Industries of Jammu as our sole Agent and Distributor for Jammu & Kashmir. The Chairman of this Group, Mr. Pawan K. Shastri has been in the plastic manufacturing industry for many years and is also a Distributor for a major polymer manufacturer. Mr. Shastri has extensive knowledge of the plastic industry and market, and is well acquainted with the manufacturers throughout Jammu & Kashmir. He brings a wealth of experience to our Group and over the past year, has been instrumental in creating awareness of the oxo technology and d2w brand to the State Government and Pollution Board, where extensive discussions and negotiations have been ongoing to ensure that the technology is fully accepted for use in J & K. Swastik Packaging Industries will be using d2w additives in their product manufacturing and have completed trial production runs using d2w and all samples have been successfully tested by Symphony Environmental Ltd in the UK.
Luibeg are delighted to announce that 21st Century Packaging of Delhi – an ISO 9001-2000 Certified Company and major plastic manufacturer has made an important break-through in supplying d2w oxo-biodegradable bags and packaging to a number of customers in Jammu & Kashmir. Through the magnificent efforts of the 21st Century Packaging Team, Luibeg are the first Organization to introduce the oxo- biodegradable technology to this Region.
21st Century Packaging has been supplying d2w products to major customers in Jammu & Kashmir for over 12 months and product samples have been fully and successfully tested by Symphony Environmental Ltd in the U.K.
Further information will be released shortly regarding the customers who use d2w products.
IN ADDITION
To further our development and prominence in Jammu & Kashmir, Luibeg are very pleased to confirm that we have appointed Swastik Packaging Industries of Jammu as our sole Agent and Distributor for Jammu & Kashmir. The Chairman of this Group, Mr. Pawan K. Shastri has been in the plastic manufacturing industry for many years and is also a Distributor for a major polymer manufacturer. Mr. Shastri has extensive knowledge of the plastic industry and market, and is well acquainted with the manufacturers throughout Jammu & Kashmir. He brings a wealth of experience to our Group and over the past year, has been instrumental in creating awareness of the oxo technology and d2w brand to the State Government and Pollution Board, where extensive discussions and negotiations have been ongoing to ensure that the technology is fully accepted for use in J & K. Swastik Packaging Industries will be using d2w additives in their product manufacturing and have completed trial production runs using d2w and all samples have been successfully tested by Symphony Environmental Ltd in the UK.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
