BITians’ Biodegradable Shopping Bags From Recycled Cotton Fibre Wastes
BITians’ Biodegradable Shopping Bags From Recycled Cotton Fibre Wastes
In the 21st century, the main problem is the usage of non-biodegradable bags made from synthetic polymers. The problem of non-biodegradable bags looms larger every day as they litter our environment and kill land animals and endangered marine life.
An average Indian family uses nearly a thousand plastic one-use bags per annum. The Polymer bags take roughly 500 years for biodegradation after dumping in the soil.
Single-use plastic bags have been the target of state bans and legislation as their impact becomes more and more realized.
After the ban, many shopkeepers and customers have suffered a lot. They started to use paper and woven bags as an alternative, but the cost of these bags are very high. The expectation of the market is one use bags at affordable cost, high strength and Eco-friendly in nature.
To give the best alternative for these bags our Bannari Amman Institute of Technology students have produced one use Biodegradable non-woven Bags from wasted cotton fibres at affordable cost, high strength and eco-friendly in nature.
Biodegradable Shopping Bags by BITians
In India, nearly about a hundred tons of recycled cotton fibres are thrown as waste per day. They are used as fillers but the maximum cotton wastes are burned in open lands.
After long research, the BIT Final year B. Tech Textile Technology students R.Ramkumar, S. Vijayakumar and, L. Muralidharan have developed a low-cost cotton shopping bag and it is made of recycled cotton fibre wastes.
The recycled cotton fibre wastes from the rotor spinning industry, garment industry were used as raw materials for the production of the bags. Natural resins are used as an adhesive to produce these bags, so it will never affect the environment.
The bag can hold up to 6 to 12 kg of materials. It would decompose within one month after disposal. It can be produced in different colours, printed with designs, logos, any style and sizes based on the customer’s requirement. They are a good alternative for plastic, paper, and woven shopping bags.
They won second prize in the Boot camp 2020 held at IIT Madras from 17-01-20 to 19-01-20.
Boot Camp 2020
The vision behind Bootcamp is to help startup teams to get mentored by industry experts to get the prototypes/ideas in the best shape!
The Startup Bootcamp, the flagship event, is one that fuses mentorship with a competitive spirit to provide students with real-world experience of cut-throat competition with other ambitious startups for gaining an opportunity to get incubated and hefty prize money.
The event is mainly crafted for early-stage startups or the young entrepreneurs with an impactful idea but need a headstart to startups or the young entrepreneurs with an impactful idea but need a headstart to startup. It’s the best opportunity for them to nurture their talent, showcase it and feel the journey of an entrepreneur.
Bootcamp 2020 was held at IIT Madras from17-01-2020 to 19-01-2020, in which 200 teams across the country were selected to present their startup ideas. Among the 200 teams, 19 teams were selected for the final round.
Our BIT Textile Technology students participated and showcased their project & idea of Biodegradable Nonwoven Shopping Bags from recycled cotton fibre wastes, and won Second Prize with a cash award of Rs. 1,00,000 among all the 200 prototype ideas presented by other college teams.
Why Biodegradable Bags?
- Biodegradable bags are the best substitute for plastic groceries, carry bags and everyday single-use products.
- Biodegradable carry bags are created using materials that will allow the bags to completely decompose after a period of time.
- To put it simply, something is biodegradable when living things, like fungi or bacteria, can break it down.
- The Biodegradable bags can obviously offer real benefits when compared to the non-biodegradable alternatives.
- Biodegradable bags are much better for the environment because there is no harm done to the earth when recovering fossil fuels.
- BITians Biodegradable bags are made from recycled cotton fibre Wastes. These products are non-toxic to the environment, animals, and plants.
You Can Do More Turn the Tide on Plastic
- Educate yourself, also your friends, family, neighbours, and children about the impact plastic bags have on the world.
- Use reusable shopping bags. Like our BITians Biodegradable one use Shopping Bags.
- If you have any plastic bags at home, reuse them. Plastic bags can be difficult to recycle, so it is wise to reuse plastic shopping bags at home for as long as you can.
- Count the plastic bags brought into your home in a week. When we actually count the number of bags we bring in weekly, it can spur us to take action.
- Spread the word. Decline plastic bags at the checkout counter and remind the cashier and others around you that plastic bags hurt the environment. Yes, reusable shopping bags cost you initially, but they can be used endlessly and help the planet.
“Stop Bagging the Planet – Say NO to Plastic Bags.”