Image Credits: Sugar Asia Magazine
Pune: Innovation has become the buzzword among packaging and tableware manufacturers after the plastic ban in Maharashtra.
One such company, Chuk — under the umbrella of Yash Papers, is now trying to popularize 100% backyard compostable tableware products. “The plastic ban has opened an opportunity for us to reach out to people and give them a better alternative for safe eating, while keeping their surroundings clean and green,” Ved Krishna, MD and Strategy Head for Yash Papers, said.
The company has appointed two distributors in the state to tap the growing opportunity after the plastic ban. “Contrary to plastic, our bagasse tableware products are sturdy, modular, modern, bleach free, microwaveable, ovenable, freezable and do not leach chemicals in the food. Plastic takes about 500 years to decompose whereas Chuk products are backyard compostable and turn into manure in 60 days,” Krishan said.
Bagasse is the dry pulpy residue left after the extraction of juice from sugar cane. “We procure bagasse from sugar mills within 100km radius of our production unit in Faizabad in Uttar Pradesh. We use about 40 tonnes of bagasse per day, which undergo a number of processes to be moulded into a range of tableware products,” he said.
Chuk, which was launched in September 2017, has a wide variety of products, including bowls, plates, containers, trays and lids. “We are also working on soup bowls, glasses and burger boxes to match international standards,” Krishna added.
He said the company aims at being cost-friendly. “At present, we have a manufacturing capacity of a million pieces a day and each piece ranges from Re 1 to Rs 7. We have also tied up with various restaurant chains and food delivery companies,” Krishna added.
