In a country where around 57 percent of the population is below the age of 30, the achievements of this set pretty much encapsulates the power of youth and the face of a new India: A country that is enjoying the spotlight on the global stage and is ready to claim its rightful place in a changing and dynamic world.
So who is this youth who has set out on a mission to provide means to eradicate the 9000 tonnes of plastic waste that remains uncollected in India everyday?
In order to beat the plastic woes plaguing the world, Ashwath Hegde, 24, through his company EnviGreen, developed a biodegradable plastic bag made out of natural starch and vegetable oil derivatives — products that are non-toxic and can consumed by plants and animals.
Ashwath Hegde has been named in the Forbes 30 under 30 2017 list under the Science and Green Tech category for his EnviGreen biodegradable plastic products.
In previous interviews with various media organisations, Hegde has said that he wants to set up enough manufacturing facilities before the bags are distributed to customers and kirana shops. “We have already started supplying to corporate retail chains like Metro and Reliance, which will start using the bags from December this year,” says Hegde.
According to The Better India, Ashwath has now set up a factory in Bengaluru that produces 1,000 metric tonnes of bags every month. “We had this unique idea of empowering farmers in rural Karnataka by sourcing all our raw materials from them. We are also planning to distribute seeds to help them produce the amount of materials required to make the bags,” he says.
EAI, India’s leading renewable and cleantech firm involved in Bioplastics research and consulting activities, take immense pleasure to congratulate Ashwath Hegde on this feat.
@BioplasticGuide @forbes_india thank you for d warm wishes team @BioplasticGuide
— Ashwath Hegde (@asch_hegde) February 7, 2017
For more information about Ashwath Hegde and his EnviGreen:
These ‘Plastic’ Bags Are Actually Made of Potato & Tapioca – and Can Become Animal Food on Disposal!
Also check out: EAI Consulting for Bio-energy & Biofuels, Bioplastics & Other Biomass-based Value Added Products
