Omani firm offers solutions to plastic bag pollution
New packaging material degrades naturally in a short span of time
An Omani company has introduced photo degradable packaging solutions, which are ray of hope for environmentalists, business houses and individuals due to the products’ ability to degrade naturally in a very short span of time. They are reusable, washable and recyclable at the same time.
The products, on display at the Omani Products’ Exhibition at the Salalah Tourism Festival (STF) are attracting interest from the festival visitors and business outlets.
The products are being displayed by Femco, which aims to replace the harmful plastic bags and other plasticbased products with safer non-woven fabrics “that are 100 per cent ecofriendly, recyclable, degradable and has ability to boost the soil potentials.”
Noel Jerone, Femco representative at the STF, explained the imitative as an effort to “safeguard Oman’s environment with an endeavour to support the government efforts to protect Oman’s diverse environment and species. We will continue to innovate and expand the Femco nonwoven product portfolio, and remain committed to support initiatives aimed at achieving ambitious conservation goals,” said Jerone citing a company document.
The non-woven fabric, according to Jerone, “is a fabric like material made from long fibres, bonded together by chemical, heat or solvent treatment. The term is used in textile manufacturing industry to denote fabrics.”
“Today, nonwoven have become an alternative to polythene foam. Nonwoven fabirics are engineered fabrics that may have a limited life, single-use fabric or very durable fabric,” he said.
Commenting on the fabric’s function Jerone said, it is used as absorbent, liquid repellent and resilient. The products are stretchable, soft, strong, flame retardable and washable. Cushioning, thermal insulation, acoustic insulation, filtration, bacterial barrier and sterility, make the products feasible for all the sectors.
Among the products and hygiene products, laundry bags, customised garment bags.
The products have ability to be used in variety of sectors like, agriculture, vehicle and service products, airline industry, and health sector. are beauty cut bags, bags and
The beauty and hygiene products include, waxing strips/ rolls, cutting tape, facial wipes, and kitchen wipe roll, compressed wipe and magic wipe. The products are dermatologically neutral, free from chemical agents, hydrophobic and hydrophilic, light weight and soft.
For agriculture, eco fruit/ crop cover, grow bags, date cover and garden cover are meant for protecting plants from birds and pests thereby reducing usage of pesticides.
The company is hopeful of getting very good response from all the sectors as it is the only Omani company doing this kind of production and meeting the great challenge of environment by introducing bio degradable product for packaging etc.
“It is a matter of awareness. Soon after people understand the value of our product they would certainly go for it. We are here in Salalah Tourism Festival to create mass awareness about our product,” said Jerone.
The manufacturing unit of photo degradable products is part of the Future Engineering Technology and Manufacturing Company, which caters to the needs of domestic as well as export market.