IIT Kharagpur team’s sustainable food packaging method wins hackathon

NEW DELHI: Students and alumni of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur have developed an eco-friendly method of using the banana leaf to preserve food and organic materials for a year without the use of any chemicals. The product, EcoDabba, has won the India Australia Circular Economy (I-ACE) Hackathon, a statement from the institute said.

The leaves are treated to resist extreme temperatures and hold weights. The technology strengthens the cell walls of the leaves thus preventing pathogenic agents from entering.

The leaves can retain their green colour with the preserved materials for a year and without the colour, for three years. These processed biomaterials are biodegradable, healthy, pathogenic-resistant, human-friendly and completely eco-friendly, said the IIT Kharagpur statement

IIT Kharagpur’s EcoDabba

The product developed by the IIT Kharagpur team, EcoDabba, is a sustainable food packaging start-up conceptualized in 2020. The team included IIT Kharagpur graduates, Bindu Sancheti and Sourav Kundu from the department of chemical engineering, and Nikita Agrawal from the department of agricultural and food engineering.

The students aim to reduce waste food packaging . The start-up was among the top three at the Global Business Challenge 2020.

The technology won the India Australia Circular Economy (I-ACE) Hackathon for the theme, “Creating opportunities for plastics waste reduction”.

The event was jointly conducted by Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog and the national science agency of Australia – Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization.

Prime minister Narendra Modi and Australian prime minister Scott Morrison attended virtually.

“All participants of this circular economy hackathon are winners,” said PM Modi adding, “We are not the owners of all that mother earth has to offer, but merely its trustees for all the future generations to come.”

80 teams of students and small and medium businesses from India and Australia participated in the event which focused on addressing global challenges.

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