• The conventional plastics has the resistance to degradation and hence poses problems for disposal.

• The plastics cannot be attached by bacteria and other micro organism, so cannot be stabilized into harmless products.

• Eco friendly plastic is produced in US and Germany, but their process is expensive and so not very suitable for develoiping countries.

• The scientists at Central Tuber Crops Research Institute (CTCRI), Trivandrum has developed a cheap technology to develop biodegradable plastics.

• The CTCRI scientists have added Tapioca starch in the polymer chains of the plastics.

• Tapioca is commonly called "Sabodana" in hindi.

• Tapioca is available in plenty in Kerela and Tamil Nadu.

• Tapioca is added to plastic at production stage using a soluble chemical agent.

• while conventional plastic take centuries to get dissolved normally, this plastic degrades within 6 months.

• The tests prove that on degradation the new plastic does not leave poisnous elements in the soil.

• Biodegradable polymers developed at the CTCR have many important and uses like surgical implants, agricultural mulches, controlled release formulation of pharmaceutical drugs and agrochemicals.

• The biodegradable polymers would be 15%-20% costlier than conventional plastic.

Many biodegradable plastics such as tone polymer, biopol, biomolle and ecolyte are in use in developed countries. Though their chemical compositions are different, they share a common function of breaking completely into carbon dioxide and water, when they are exposed to sunlight, alkaline soil and microorganisms for long duration. But they are too expensive to be widely put to use because of the cost of production that is involved

Experts believes biodegradable plastics may still be a long way off, specially in India. Which may be reason enough to be cautious with the real ground value of such research, at least for now. But the point is, somebody is trying