The common myth around compostable packaging material is that it is free of plastic because it is made from plant based chemical as opposed to petrochemicals.

FACT: Compostable bags made from bagasse (sugar cane fibers) or PLA (poly-lactic acid) and sold by major retailers like Lulu Hypermarket (Kochi) in Kerala is still in fact essentially plastic which is just as unsafe and harmful to the environment as any petrochemical based plastic.

Compostable plastic bags may be used only as an alternative to garbage bags and are not to be used or sold as carry/shopping bags as being done so by major retailer Lulu Hypermarket, Kochi.

As per Times of India report Environment Department has issued a clarification over the use of compostable plastic. As per the clarification compostable plastic can be used only as a substitute for garbage bags and are NOT to be used as a substitute for plastics carry/shopping bags.

As per Plastic Waste Management Rules 2016– “compostable plastics” mean plastic that undergoes degradation by biological processes during composting to yield CO2, water, inorganic compounds and biomass at a rate consistent with other known compostable materials, excluding conventional petro-based plastics,and does not leave visible, distinguishable or toxic residue.

The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board has moved to ban ‘compostable’ plastic bags which has earned the praise of environmentalists as well as waste management activists.

Here you can find the Kerala State Government press release issued by Department of Environment & Climate Change with respect to clarification regarding usage of Compostable Materials in the context of Plastic Ban.