Advantages of Compostable/Biodegradable technical
Being a breathable material and made of PP polymer, nonwovens are very dangerous to discard in regular garbage or on the street, states Divyesh
We are witnessing littering of textile and nonwoven products all over. After COVID, the use of nonwovens in medical sector has increased dramatically. Moreover, people have made use of face masks and many other protective items in their daily routines. It is being used once and needs special care to discard. But, these products are seen on streets and dumping yards, polluting air, water and land. Billions of face masks were discarded on the streets during COVID and they are still in the environment polluting nature.
Being a breathable material and made of PP polymer, nonwovens are very dangerous to discard in regular garbage or on the street. After some time, it starts disintegrating and is converted into small particles and microplastics. But, it will never degrade and will stay in the environment for thousands of years. First, it pollutes groundwater and ultimately reaches our bodies with water. Second, microplastics pollute the air and reached the human body through breathing. Third, it stays on the land for thousands of years without degrading and polluting the land. Fourth, it will go to oceans through rivers and pollute complete marine life, there are some research articles showing that microplastics have reached the human body by consuming fish loaded with plastics.
Furthermore, the contaminated medical waste needs to be incinerated and mostly it is loaded with single-use medical nonwoven products. When it is incinerated, it emits toxic fumes and pollutes the air. The air pollution is responsible for many disasters on Earth. Either it is incinerated or discarded anywhere on the Earth and both are polluting the environment.
The industry has already developed 100 per cent compostable/biodegradable nonwovens, that can be used in all products like medical, hygiene and single-use products. It is need of an hour for all sectors to replace plastic products with sustainable ones. It is not harmful to humans and the Earth by means of air, water or land. Once it is discarded, it starts degrading in the environment and does not leave any toxic contents behind. It does not emit toxic fumes, while incinerated.
If all the medical plastic and nonwoven products are made from compostable material, they can be easily incinerated in a small incinerator without leaving any toxic fumes. The small incinerators (which requires lower temperature comparatively) can also be set up inside the hospitals same as sanitary pad incinerator in female toilets. It will become easy to discard the contaminated waste and hospitals can save money which is being paid to incineration plants. No need to handle the contaminated waste for a longer time and fewer chances of infection from it by incinerating it inside the hospitals only.
The compostable hygiene products like diapers and sanitary pads can also be discarded easily in small incinerators. The infectious and contaminated sanitary pads can be disposed of very easily and quickly. It helps to stop spreading the infection and keeps the environment neat and clean.
The routine protective items like facemasks, caps, shoe covers, hand gloves, coverall gowns, aprons, etc. can be made from compostable materials. Once discarded, it will degrade in the environment without harming nature, animals, marine life and human life. We can see again a healthy and green planet.
I appeal to all plastic manufacturers to take a walk around your home, work or any place you prefer. I promise that if you walk only one kilometre, look at the road sideways, unused lands/plots, around garbage bins, etc; you will regret what you are producing. Who are the victims? Do you think that the government? No, we are the victims, this will be harmful to us because we are going to live here with the littering that we have done, and the next generations are going to witness this. At the best, the government will clean up your society, but the collected garbage is going to stay here on Earth only and going to pollute the air and water, which is common for all. No one is manufacturing their own H2O and O2.
The government of India has declared and implemented a single-use plastic (SUP) ban many times on various groups of products (SUPs) each time. The step is to stop plastic littering and pollution as a part of “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan” initiated by our Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the rivers are flooded with plastic waste and polluting oceans in the end. Today, I don’t think that I need to explain why the plastic ban is necessary, everyone knows the negative side of single-use plastic and how disastrous and dangerous it is.
The most critical aspect of the crisis is how severely the Earth is being harmed and contaminated. If we realise the truth and awaken, this cannot be undone later. It is frightening to see how polluted the air, water, and land are. If the issue can be comprehended and reality is seen, it is no less than an emergency. We should not forget that we have only one earth.
About the author:
Divyesh Dadhania, a Polymer Technologist by Training is the Founder of Deltora Biopolymers. Presently, working on a biodegradable polymer project to establish an industrial-scale production of bioplastic. His pursuit began with his undergraduate education. The negative impact of synthetic plastic products on the environment caught his attention which further motivated him to pursue a master’s in polymer technology. While doing masters, working on sustainable polymer became his dream and the quest to fulfill the dream led him to work innovatively and independently in various research laboratories. The team’s hard work brought him one step closer to his mission which he envisioned years back. The research was carried out at IIT Guwahati to develop lab-scale technology. Currently, they are commercialising the technology in Ahmedabad, India and started manufacturing compostable/biodegradable materials.
