Iranian biodegradable waste bags in Armenian market
By Yeganeh Kiani
Staff writer
The generation of urban solid waste and the subsequent disposal of it are among the most critical environmental issues around the world. Among these wastes, plastic has a large volume due to mismanagement as well as incorrect human usage. Currently, most plastics are not biodegradable.
In order to solve the issue, we can use nanobiodegradable plastic as alternatives to current common plastic.
In an interview with Iran Daily, Abbas Khodabandehlou, who runs a business in nanotechnology, says nanoplastic bags decompose much faster than other types of plastic bags.
“Nanoparticles are the most important materials used in the production process of all kinds of nanobags. Nanotechnology is the brand-new technology in the field of producing various compounds including plastic bags,” he said.
According to Khodabandehlou, these goods have many benefits over ordinary plastics, including great tensile strength, heat resistance and biodegradability.
“Also they can be used repeatedly and, for this reason, in addition to reducing the need for bags, they provide more protection for the environment. In fact, they are environmentally friendly. These bags are beneficial for farmers and businesspeople, who are about to import goods like fruits and vegetables. They protect the produce from decaying and preserve them for about one month without any change in quality,” he said.
Regular bags can only preserve such goods for about two weeks.
“Current nanostartups in Iran require better domestic investments due to the fact that essential materials for this technology are so expensive, and also there is the need for contemporary fully automatic machine manufacturers to reduce labor and save on cost,” he said.
Khodabandehlou further stated that some knowledge-based startups in cities like Tehran, Isfahan, and Qom are making a lot of effort to produce raw materials for nanobag production.
“Meanwhile, there are others which import raw materials from neighboring countries like Turkey, which leads to high expenses in producing these goods.”
In other news, there has been a contract signed between one of the Iranian nanocompanies and Kapan City Municipality in Armenia that will see the export of the company’s biodegradable and antibacterial polyethylene rubbish bags to the city.
The company has formerly exported its goods to Germany and Uzbekistan as well as Turkey and Armenia, according to the CEO.
These types of bags are also being used in fruit and vegetables markets in Tehran and Mashhad.
Each individual should make an effort to preserve the environment. It would be better to use alternatives like cloth bags and paper bags. Moreover, if we are using plastic bags, we had better reuse them. We also should consider switching from plastic water bottles, which greatly contribute to plastic pollution, to bottles made of metal or glass.