About us
Ecoeat India Private Limited, a INDIAN based company is the sole manufacturer of a corn starch disposable ware and carrier bags. Ecoeat has not only the capabilities to address the growing concerns of climate change it is also cost and performance competitive to oil-based plastics and fibers..
We aim to promote environmental responsibility and sustainability, and encourage households and companies to adopt eco-friendly habits as part of our daily lives by offering affordable eco-friendly alternative to disposable tableware.
After Ecoeat is used and discarded, and with the correct conditions (temperature, humidity and the presence of microbes), it will biodegrade after 90 days.
Ecoeat products are also up to 68% carbon-neutral when incinerated, reducing the amount of greenhouse gases significantly.
Internationally, EcoEat has been accredited by various recognised organisations and is also ISO certified.
Being a versatile material, can be customised into different shapes, sizes and colours of your choice.
Ecoeat products are competitive priced compared to other biodegradable and plastic tableware.
COMPARISON OF COMMON DISPOSABLE TABLEWARE MATERIALS
Everyone knows the kind of damages we are inflicting on our planet. The massive production of plastics and Styrofoam not only depletes our already limited resource of oil, we are also churning out huge amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere, causing global warming which results in worldwide natural disasters such as droughts, flooding and irregular weather patterns. Hurricanes and typhoons may not affect us but our country will not be spread when sea levels rises due to the melting of the polar ice caps.
There are many methods to counter pollution that leads to an increase in CO2. One way is to reduce the production and disposal of plastics. The Indian government is currently encouraging recycling and the reduction of the usage of plastic bags. We now have another option: to use bio-plastics instead of pure plastics.
Degradation is a process whereby very large molecules are broken into smaller molecules or fragments. Normally, oxygen is incorporated into these molecular fragments. Typically, strong, tough plastic films become weak and brittle as a result of oxidative degradation because the molecules of which the films consist become much smaller. Degradation can be caused by heat or exposure to UV light and is enhanced by mechanical stress. All normal plastics are degradable but it takes a long period of time to do so, normally in excesses of more than 500 years.
Biodegradation is a process by which microorganisms (microbes such as bacteria, fungi or algae) convert materials into biomass, carbon dioxide and water when left by itself in nature. Meaning to say the material becomes food for the micro organisms to feed on. Hence the extra word "bio" in front of the word "degradable". The main material is non petroleum based in nature and are usually made from plant or animal sources. Examples of biodegradable materials include paper, vegetable scraps and some forms of plastics made from ingredients such as corn starch. These micro organisms speed up the process of degradation which is normally completed from as short as a day to as long as a year.
These products will "disappear" after some time if they are buried in a landfill/compost facility and no toxic residue will be found. They should not be buried too deep down where oxygen is heavily depleted. If the landfill is oxygen deprived (anaerobic), methane - a greenhouse gas with over 62 times the GWP (Global Warming Potential) of carbon dioxide is formed and may do more damage to the environment.
Incinerating these materials can offset the amount of carbon gases released by the amount of carbon dioxide they consume during their life time –that is they are carbon neutral.
Carbon neutrality is the net amount of carbon dioxide products releases into the atmosphere when incinerated. Incinerating materials made from animal or plant sources can offset the amount of carbon gases released by the amount of carbon dioxide they consume during their life time –that is are carbon neutral.
Bio-plastics, made of natural raw materials, primarily corn and yam starch, are carbon-neutral. This means that the quantity of carbon dioxide released when incinerated is up to 68% less than conventional plastics.
Here’s an example to illustrate the concept of carbon neutrality: A corn plant takes in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as it grows. 1 unit of the carbon dioxide is "stored" in the corn. This corn, together with the 1 unit of carbon dioxide, is made into plant. When plant is incinerated, the same 1 unit of carbon dioxide is released back into the atmosphere. Thus the net amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has not increased. Plastics on the other hand releases new carbon dioxide into the atmosphere when burnt, contributing to the greenhouse gases. In addition, no toxic gases are released during burning and the ash that is produced is non-toxic. It will not cause land and water pollution when it is eventually dumped in a landfill or sea.
To understand carbon neutrality fully we need a Life Cycle Assessments of these products to have a better understanding of the net amount of carbon dioxide the products releases into the atmosphere - since transportation and production of these materials use energy and thus releases carbon dioxide as well.
CO2 emissions: 1kg of plastic emits 3.4kg of CO2 when incinerated compared to 1.14 kg of net CO2 emissions when Ecoeat Products is burnt.
Energy used: 1 kg of plastic uses 85.9 mega joules of energy when burnt. 1 kg of Ecoeat Products used 25.4 mega joules of energy when burnt.
The shortage of corn can contribute to the burden of world hunger. How do we reconcile this pressing issue?
Hunger is a social disease linked to poverty and thus any discussion of hunger is incomplete without a discussion of economics. If we're going to speak meaningfully about hunger, we need to understand the true causes of hunger. For example, hunger is not caused by shortage of food. According to international statistics, the world's farmers produce 4.3 pounds of food per person, per day. This includes vegetables, cereals, fish, meat, and grains.
People are hungry because they are too poor to buy food. There is a shortage of purchasing power, not a shortage of food.
To put it simply, our Earth generates enough food for all, but sad to say, it’s the interplay of economic forces and politics that decides who gets more, less or none. It is not a question of whether we have enough food or how we deal with them, it is a question of how we can distribute the right food, at the right time to the right people, and be it regionally or internationally.
In recent years, there has been the issue of food shortages around the world and some people question the use of edible crops for the manufacture of these bio-plastics. However, the corn that we use, is grown specially for the purpose of making plant products. You can rest assure that each time you use Ecoeat products, you are not contributing to the global food shortage problem.
Does not undergo the same process as biodegradability as certain additives or chemicals are added into the compositional makeup of the plastic material to speed up the process of degradation. The degradation is not biological but chemical degradation by oxidation and hydrolysis for oxo and hydro-biodegradable plastics respectively.
The main material is still petroleum based plastics and the extent of the degradation process really depends on the amount of additives added. The more additives added, the faster the degradation, the more expensive the product. It can never be as cheap as normal plastics. If the product is as cheap as normal petroleum plastics, then the amount of additives is very little and the product is like normal plastic.
Several companies are greenwashing their so called oxo or hydro degradable product using this unethical method of adding very little additives and hoping to gain a premium on their otherwise ordinary everyday plastic material. Upon burial of these products, toxic wastes are produced and these can do further damage to the environment.
Paper is considered a good alternative to plastics or Styrofoam provided it carries the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) logo. The non-profit Forest Stewardship Council has established an international certification program, based on standards developed from the input of many interested parties such as forest managers and owners, consumers, environmental groups, scientists, indigenous peoples, and union representatives. The certification process not only looks at the forests themselves, but tracks each step in the supply path from the forest through pulp and paper manufacturing to distribution and sales. In this way, it is possible to be reasonably certain that a given product contains fiber that comes only from sustainably managed forests and has not displaced indigenous peoples or destroyed their livelihoods.
Papers (even tree-free ones) are often bleached with chlorine or chlorine derivatives that form dioxin, a known carcinogen (cancer causing) and other compounds that pollute local air and water supplies. This bleaching is necessary to whiten the paper for aesthetic effects. Look for products labelled either Processed Chlorine Free (PCF) or Totally Chlorine Free (TCF).
As the production of paper usually involves the unethical disposal of waste water into the environment, it is important the paper producing plant is certified under the ISO 14001 (EMS) standard. An EMS is a systematic approach to dealing with the environmental aspects of an organisation. It is a tool that enables the organisation to control the impact of its activities, products or services on the environment. There is no meaning at all if the plant pollutes the environment whilst producing a supposedly Green product.