"These paperboards with the bio-based coating are fully biodegradable under suitable composting conditions. This is the next step in the product evolution from the virgin fibre based paperboards with barrier coatings which are called Indobarr and Indobev," said Manoj Chauhan of ITC PSPD in his address at the Innopack F&B 2018 Confex held in April this year.

Omegabev is exclusively made for paper cups whereas Omegabarr is a fully-coated folding box board for applications like fast food tubs, ice cream cartons and soap packaging which require barrier properties. "Both these products substantially reduce the carbon footprint as compared to plastic coated boards and can be supplied by us with FSC certification," added Chauhan.

ITC PSPD has a total capacity to produce approximately 7,00,000TPA. “We are the market leader in both virgin and high-quality recycled fibre based boards," claimed Chauhan.   

The company has embarked on a wide-scale initiative called ‘Wellbeing Out of Waste’ (WOW) which aims to reduce the carbon footprint by inculcating the habit of source segregation and recycling among corporates, school children and households. So far the programme has covered over 77 lakh citizens, 37 lakh school children and 2,000 corporates.

"It creates sustainable livelihoods for 14,500 waste-collectors by propagating source segregation at the household level and facilitating effective collection mechanisms in collaboration with municipal corporations," concluded Chauhan.