An Indonesian entrepreneur and his company have tried to halt the islands’ plastic scourge with an alternative to conventional plastic.
Kevin Kumala, co-founder of Avani Eco has presented a cassava-made carrier bag in a country that discards tons of plastic on a daily basis. Cassava which is a tropical root found abundantly in Indonesia can be used to make biodegradable plastic that unlike its artificial counterpart, breaks down within a few months into the earth and is dissolved instantly in lukewarm water.
This project has begun at a critical time as reports predict the amounts of plastic in the ocean will surpass fish by 2050. Kumala who’s a biology graduate demonstrates how his designed bags do not harm marine or terrestrial life even if burnt before being dissolved into water or earth.
Despite its promising features, the non-plastic costs nearly twice the price of plastic as no government funding is aimed at reducing plastic waste. But producers and environmentalists hope that a pay-it-forward-attitude in the market lower the price of the bio-product.