Guwahati: The Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IIT-G) has established the NRL - Centre of Excellence (CoE) on its campus for Sustainable Materials Translational Facility on Bioplastics to work towards the development of environment-friendly sustainable plastics.

The centre was inaugurated by Governor Gulab Chand Kataria and is expected to act as a catalyst in advancing the development of sustainable plastics.

Speaking about the Translational Facility at IIT Guwahati, Prof. Parameswar K. Iyer, Officiating Director at IIT Guwahati, said, “Such holistic technological advancement in the area of biodegradable plastics through industry support is a one-of-its-kind initiative in the country. We are hopeful that the industries will use the available knowledge base to speed up further commercial activities in the compostable plastics sector, as the current plastic problem needs to be addressed without further delay.”

"The partnership between IIT Guwahati and NRL for establishing this facility marks a first-of-its-kind academic-industrial collaboration," he added.

Speaking about the R&D work being done by IIT Guwahati in this field, Prof. Vimal Katiyar, Coordinator, NRL-Center of Excellence for Sustainable Materials, and, Dean, Research and Development, IIT Guwahati, said, “We, at IIT Guwahati, are targeting to utilise bamboo as the main raw material for production of biodegradable plastics and related products, and once adopted, it will lead to significant industrialisation in the region.”

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