BIOPLASTIC FANTASTIC!

       Competitive alternative green packaging materials do battle with the old polluters By Anchalee Kongrut

       For years I have been a loyal supporter of KU Green's bioplastic products - biodegradable food packaging that is an alternative to polystyrene foam and other polluting plastic products.Such faithful patronage makes me proud,yet it bothers me that the price of KU Green products is at least two or three times that of ordinary packaging.
       There are always explanations for choosing expensive things over cheap ones. As for me, I dole out the extra satang simply because I want to see KU Green bioplastic products thrive.
       My theory is that cheap goods are a result of the law of demand and supply.Remember the price of mobile phones 20 years ago? If people keep buying KU-Green products, the price could become level with or lower than polluting polystyrene foam and oil-based plastic.
       So far, however, my actions and those of like-minded KU fans don't seem to be enough. Over the last 10 years, the price of bioplastic products has hardly wavered.You have to pay five baht for a bioplastic lunch box against one baht for a polystyrene foam package of the same size.
       Bioplastics are made from natural agricultural products such as cassava, tapioca and sugar cane starch. The materials can biodegrade naturally within one year without releasing toxic substances into surrounding soil and water. Normal plastic materials take almost a century to biodegrade, while polystyrene foam will stay on the planet practically forever.
       Bioplastic production is good for the agricultural sector as well as it uses farm products and waste and minimises the accumulation of rubbish. Decomposing bioplastic waste can be even be used as an organic fertiliser.
       Bioplastics became widely known over a decade ago, but despite the damage traditional oil-based plastics are doing to the planet, they haven't really caught on.
       In the same time period, alternative energy sources made from biomass have become popular. Biodiesel and ethanol are now mainstream products, affordable thanks to supportive government policies.In Thailand the state's Oil Fund pays one baht for every litre of biodiesel put into our vehicles. The Revenue Department also waives taxes on ethanol that is produced for fuel. Without political sympathy and state subsidy, biodiesel and ethanol would cost around five baht more per litre, making themmuch less commercially viable.
       I'm optimistic the future may be brighter for bioplastics. The National Innovation Agency (NIA), the state's technological research arm, will propose that the Finance Ministry collect tax on oil-based plastics,hopefully starting in 2010, pending approval from the finance ministry.
       The NIA hopes the tax will drive the price of oil-based plastic materials higher,on a par with bioplastics. Who in their right mind would patronise polluting products if they cost the same as environ-mentally friendly alternatives?
       Wantanee Chongkum, director of the Innovation Department at NIA, said the tax measure should help give rise to a surge in bioplastics.
       In reality, ordinary plastic, polystyrene foam and bioplastic are not much different in terms of production cost, said Ms Wantanee."What makes polystyrene foam and plastic cheaper is their high demand,as manufacturers can produce them en masse. Another aspect is that manufacturers do not factor in garbage disposal costs. So the burden to clean up the environment is passed to the authorities," she said.
       Indeed, this is not the first time the government has attempted to counter the use of plastic packaging. Over a decade ago the Pollution Control Department drafted a packing tax law to collect fees from packaging manufacturers and consumers. The bill was opposed by the industrial sector and never took off. So, I expect our industrialists to ferociously counter this tax measure also.
       Still, I hope the government will also see the benefits of bioplastics, which are not only environmental. Major international bioplastic manufacturers such as Netherlands-based CSM, a leading bakeries supplier, and Nature Works LLC, the world's largest producer of bioplastics, have considered building a multi-million baht bioplastic production facility in Thailand.
       The company's investment plan is in line with Thailand's national road map for the development of an integrated bioplastics industry by 2012.
       I am crossing my fingers that the NIA's proposal will be granted. The government has recently issued laws and policies conducive to the development of environmentally friendly products. Earlier this month, the Board of Investment gave a generous tax cut - up to 90%- to ecocar manufacturers.
       I hope this sentiment will spread to bioplastic investment.