| |JUNE 20229within three months to two years or three years depending on the conditions and the environment around it. If we look at the global market, the focus is majorly on the bio-based content over biodegradability. How do you see this from the India market perspective?Bio-based and biodegradable are definitely two different terms. Biodegradable does not necessarily mean that it is bio-based. Bio-based is basically a product that comes 100 percent from natural plant based materials. Bio-based obviously means that it has gone through the lifecycle of a plant and as a delivery mechanism, which has now been polymerized and converted to a biopolymer. It is what is coming from the ground and going back to the ground, from a seed to a plant to a polymer and then back to the soil as a nutrient. Plastics made out of polyethylene or polyester like PET bottles or PVC can also be made biodegradable, and that biodegradable plastic can break down into small shapes. So, for instance, a normal plastic bag may take between 500-1000 years to degrade. But this material takes only a few months or a couple of years to degrade.How do you see this market evolving in the near future and which new technologies do you foresee being implemented?Primarily, we are working on applications that are of essence and simple to use, which is where most of our emphasis is generated. At the end of the day, it will all go through a recycling system and a junkyard. And if we have a compostable plastic in place, we should be able to get more value to our system by using such plastic. Moreover, the strength of our bio polymers is almost the same as the normal plastic that's in various different grades suited for different applications that can be utilized in the marketplace. And it offers an advantage to the users because it sends a message to customers that they are contributing to sustainability. It is actually taking us on a path of sustainable change. Today, a lot of the biopolymers are mostly imported from different countries around the world. There is hardly any substantial production happening in the country
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