Jute Polymer Bag: Deal signed for commercial production
Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC) and the UK's Futamura Chemical Company yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the commercial production of Sonali Bag -- a jute-made, biodegradable and environment-friendly poly bag.
State Minister for Textiles and Jute Mirza Azam attended the MoU signing ceremony, which was held at the ministry's meeting room in the Secretariat, reported state-run news agency BSS.
BJMC Secretary AKM Tareque and Futamura Chemical Company General Manager Graeme Coulthard signed the MoU on behalf of their respective sides.
“The name 'Sonali Bag' was given by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The commercial production of jute-made poly bag will begin within six to nine months,” Azam said after signing the MoU, adding that the price of the Sonali Bag would be relatively high in the beginning, but will decrease along with the increase of production.
He hoped that the demand of the poly bag will be high in the market.
Since 2010, noted scientist and chief scientific officer at BJMC Dr Mubarak Hossain had been trying to invent a biodegradable polymer from jute fibre.
In 2015, he finally found success.
Speaking to The Daily Star earlier, Mubarak said jute polymer had the potential to usher in a new era in the packaging industry, in Bangladesh and across the world, by replacing the conventional petroleum-based polymers such as polythene and polypropylene.
It can also help boost the country's economy, given the rising demand for environment-friendly poly bags in developed countries, he added.
Mubarak further said although biodegradable, this jute polymer is water and air resistant and is 1.5 times stronger than polythene. It also decomposes in soil within five to six months as opposed to polythene which could take several hundred years.
In May 2017, two years after the ground-breaking invention, the government began a trial production under a project named “Sonali Bag” at the state-run Latif Bawani Jute Mills in Dhaka's Demra.
Textiles and Jute Ministry's Secretary Md Faizur Rahman Chowdhury, BJMC Chairman Md Mahmudul Hassan and Mubarak Hossain, among others, were present at the ceremony.
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