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The famous, tasty Tirupati prasadam – laddu – is now packed and available in bio-degradable bags, signalling a shift away from plastic bags.
Bringing this change are the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) and a private company based in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, Greendiamz Biotech Ltd. The TTD had decided to ban the use of plastic bags in the temple premises a few months ago and invited tenders for bio-degradable substitutes.
Greendiamz Biotech won the tender. “We have to supply 25 lakh bags every month for a period of six months. We have supplied 12.5 lakh bags since mid-February ”, said Mr. Dipack Sangghvi, Director, Greendiamz.
The TTD authorities tested the bags manufactured by the company and signed the deal in February. The bag, to be made of 30-micron thick material, does not get affected by ghee, oil or moisture. It gets decomposed in 180 days after coming in contact with soil.
The company will be supplying close to 25 lakh bags a month for distribution of the laddus to the devotees. More than 50,000 devotees visit the shrine daily and on weekends the number crosses a lakh. These bags would be a huge effort at the abode of the Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala, where annually a few crores of people make pilgrimage, in reducing the use of plastic bags drastically.
Greendiamz Biotech has also come up with a film called TrueGreen, which is 100 per cent bio-degradable and 100 per cent compostable, for use in gutkha/pan masala pouches. This film can be used to replace the internal lining of plastics in the pouches. When the pouch comes into contact with the soil, it biodegrades itself and composts within 180 days.
. “We have a tie up with Limagrain of France, from whom we import raw material and manufacture the product in Ahmedabad”, Mr Sangghvi told Business Line over phone from Ahmedabad.
Plans are on to have a joint venture with Limagrain to make the raw material called biolice in the country itself, so that costs come down. The company has so far made an investment of Rs 30 crores and will put in Rs 20 crores more in the next 6 to 8 months. Efforts are on to make bio-compostable garbage bags in the near future, he added.
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