India's 1st: BAMUL tests bio-degradable milk packets

Bengaluru: Karnataka could soon be the first state to supply milk in bio-degradable and bio-compostable packets made of corn starch as a potential substitute to plastic packets which are harmful to the environment.

In a trial phase, the Bangalore Urban, Rural and Ramanagara District Co-Operative Milk Producers’ Societies’ Union Ltd (BAMUL) has been supplying 120 such packets of milk everyday to Hunsenahalli near Kanakapura since June 5 and officials said that there were no leakages or quality issues.

Once the trials are completed, the plan is to use these packets to serve Bengaluru and pass on the idea to Karnataka Milk Federation, to be adopted across the state.

“We have been supplying close to 120 packets daily since June 5 and the trials have been successful. No leakages or quality issues have been reported. We will soon hold discussions and decide on how we can go ahead to extend it across Bengaluru,” said Rajkumar H P, president, BAMUL.

Officials claimed that they had partnered with a private firm and had been testing the product for nearly a year now. According to BAMUL, the plastic packets now being used remain in the soil for nearly 500 years and the new corn starch based products will degrade within six months. “They are not just bio-degradable but also bio-compostable. Once they are in the soil, in six months they decompose into fertiliser and improve the fertility of the soil,” another senior official from BAMUL said.

Over the years, various companies from the dairy industry had claimed that the shift from plastic packets was practically impossible owing to high costs. However, BAMUL is yet to negotiate the prices and officials are of the opinion that it could cost close to 5% more.

In 2018, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) had urged KMF to use alternative packaging saying that processing plastic waste was difficult. However, KMF had then maintained that plastic covers were not replaceable.

Many other states have also experimented with various ideas to prevent plastic menace but none of them has been successful. For instance, the Kerala Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (Milma) had floated a idea to start milk ATMs where people could get milk by getting their own containers. However, the idea did not take off. Many others had suggested going back to the use of glass bottles but none of them have worked so far.