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What if there existed a single-use bag that shared all the positive properties of a plastic bag, but none of the negative properties? What if it was made of products that would otherwise be wasted, was eco-friendly, and could biodegrade in less than a year? That hypothetical situation is now a reality.
Starting young
Mohammad Azhar Mohiuddin, the founder of Bio Reform, a Hyderabad-based startup, has been an entrepreneur from a young age, according to Startuppedia. From the early age of 14, he was hustling at various jobs — from logo design to cleaning services — trying to make a buck. Then the coronavirus hit, and Mohiuddin was stuck at home with his thoughts.
“In 2019, I wondered what I was really even chasing. Money? That would come even after I started focusing on solving real life problems,” he told The Better India.
After reading a statement from Prime Minister Modi expressing the goal of making India single-use plastic free by 2025, according to Startuppedia, Mohiuddin — then only 20, — decided to get to work.
It wasn’t always smooth sailing, reported The Better India. The young man had to deal with the pressures of being both a graduate student and an entrepreneur. His grades started to stumble. He was scammed by people trying to sell him machinery that didn’t exist. In 2022 he actually shut down the factory for a while so he could finish his studies and clear a large backlog in the engineering of his product.
But Mohiuddin persevered and Bio Reform is now a lucrative company that has been able to leverage the B2B market to replace more than 6 million plastic bags over two years.
Properties of Plastic
But what about the bags? Mohiuddin was looking for a material that could mimic the properties that make plastic so popular, according to Startuppedia. It needed to be water-resistant, lightweight, and durable. He found what he was seeking in corn waste, using a biotechnological process to turn its cellulose, sugars, and other components into biopolymers.
These biopolymers are then turned into bags that are silky smooth, and durable. Most importantly though, they biodegrade into rich manure within 180 days.
The bags have found their fans in a wide range of industries, from hotels trying to improve their sustainability, to organic milk producers and restaurants. They have all found Bio Reform bags to be both an environmentally friendly and economically prudent choice.
The creation of the Bio Reform eco-friendly, compostable, and biodegradable bag is a testament to Mohiuddin’s diligence and determination. It also goes to show that creating a more environmentally friendly world can be the matter of some creative thinking and an entrepreneurial spirit.
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