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Bis: No plastic is 100% biodegradable till now, any such claim falls under ‘misleading advertisements’: BIS | India News
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NEW DELHI: Amid the growing claims by companies about their products using “biodegradable plastic” for marketing their brand, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) on Wednesday said as of now there is no 100% biodegradable plastic in India. It said firms making such claims or ‘greenwashing’ their products are liable to face action under “misleading advertisements” rules of Consumer Protection Act.
Responding to a question from TOI, director general (DG) of BIS, Pramod Kumar Tiwari said, “It has not been established whether any plastic is actually 100% biodegradable. Research is still going on on this in India and across the world. We had suggested to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the environment ministry not to issue any plastic product as biodegradable and they have accepted it.”
Officials said the tests of plastic products claiming to be biodegradable are underway at Central Institute of Plastics Engineering and Technology (CIPET) at Bhubaneswar and none of them has passed the test till now. They added that the government faces a tough challenge on how to check greenwashing by companies. Greenwashing is the practice of making products appear more sustainable than they really are and this involves strategic marketing ploys, misguided publicity materials or advertisements.
Currently, the government gives certificates only to “compostable plastic manufacturers”, which is different from certificates for manufacturing biodegradable plastic.
Scientists involved in tests that a product can be certified as “biodegradable” only when it’s found that after 90% of degradation, there is no adverse impact of the product or its ingredients on the environment. They added that there are also discussions across the globe whether “biodegradable plastic is a myth”.
In the case of compostable plastic, the materials are treated in controlled environmental conditions in industries such as “pits” to them break down into water, biomass, and gases such as carbon dioxide and methane.
Tiwari said in the absence of proof, any claim of certain plastics as biodegradable tantamount to misleading advertisement. The government has set up the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) to deal with misleading advertisements. As per the statutory guidelines, the manufacturers or advertisers must keep scientific evidence for the claims they make while advertising their products.
Currently, the BIS has published a provisional standard for assessment of biodegradability of plastic under varied conditions to address issues such as biodegradation, negative effects of resulting biomass on terrestrial plant growth and negative effects.
Responding to a question from TOI, director general (DG) of BIS, Pramod Kumar Tiwari said, “It has not been established whether any plastic is actually 100% biodegradable. Research is still going on on this in India and across the world. We had suggested to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the environment ministry not to issue any plastic product as biodegradable and they have accepted it.”
Officials said the tests of plastic products claiming to be biodegradable are underway at Central Institute of Plastics Engineering and Technology (CIPET) at Bhubaneswar and none of them has passed the test till now. They added that the government faces a tough challenge on how to check greenwashing by companies. Greenwashing is the practice of making products appear more sustainable than they really are and this involves strategic marketing ploys, misguided publicity materials or advertisements.
Currently, the government gives certificates only to “compostable plastic manufacturers”, which is different from certificates for manufacturing biodegradable plastic.
Scientists involved in tests that a product can be certified as “biodegradable” only when it’s found that after 90% of degradation, there is no adverse impact of the product or its ingredients on the environment. They added that there are also discussions across the globe whether “biodegradable plastic is a myth”.
In the case of compostable plastic, the materials are treated in controlled environmental conditions in industries such as “pits” to them break down into water, biomass, and gases such as carbon dioxide and methane.
Tiwari said in the absence of proof, any claim of certain plastics as biodegradable tantamount to misleading advertisement. The government has set up the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) to deal with misleading advertisements. As per the statutory guidelines, the manufacturers or advertisers must keep scientific evidence for the claims they make while advertising their products.
Currently, the BIS has published a provisional standard for assessment of biodegradability of plastic under varied conditions to address issues such as biodegradation, negative effects of resulting biomass on terrestrial plant growth and negative effects.
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