By Regina Lee

PUTRAJAYA, MALAYSIA - Imagine combing your hair with a brush that could have been made from food.

This is not too far-fetched as far as Return 2 Green Sdn Bhd and Bio Green Bags Sdn Bhd president and chief executive officer P. Ramaness is concerned.

Ramaness, an inventor of biodegradable products, including packaging, combs and cutlery, said products made from agricultural waste would biodegrade and become compost in 45 to 180 days.

By comparison, polystyrene and normal plastic bags do not biodegrade at all.

The biodegradable products are a result of four years of research into sugar cane bagasse (fibre) and tapioca stem by the companies.

"Farmers still have to dispose of this agricultural waste.

"So, instead of throwing them away, we can use it to make food packaging products which are environment friendly.

"It is also a win-win situation for farmers who can earn revenue by selling the waste to our companies.

"They have nothing to lose. They can just sell it to us instead of burning it and polluting the environment," Ramaness said.

While his products are now based on sugar cane bagasse and tapioca stem, his companies are expanding their research to include padi husks.

Using agricultural goods to make biodegradable products would not contribute to a food shortage of any kind since they used food waste and not the food source, he said.

He also dismissed the myth of incurring a much higher cost when it came to biodegradable products.

"Although it is still competitive here, when our products are exported to European countries and the United States, they become as cheap as non-biodegradable products.

"There, the green tax will make non-biodegradable pro- ducts as expensive as bio-degradable ones," he said after signing a memorandum of understanding with Mega Signet Sdn Bhd, a Malaysia-based international consulting and marketing organisation at the Perdana Leadership Foundation recently.

Under the agreement, Mega Signet will be their exclusive partner to market and sell the products, both locally and internationally.

Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who witnessed the signing, said the venture was not only eco-friendly but could also help with waste management.