Now, ‘flex’ the eco-friendly way

Gurvinder Singh

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, May 5

The widespread use of flex hoardings used for publicity is increasingly becoming an environmental hazard, as these are made from non-biodegradable material, including the PVC. A city-based firm has come up with an eco-friendly publicity material, which can serve as an alternative to flex.

Being one of the cheapest material, flex banners are ubiquitous and commonly printing on cloth banners and other materials. But because these are made of non-biodegradable plastic material, these are also adding to solid waste in tonnes, there is an increasing awareness about environmental hazard these are turning into.

In fact, some of the states, including Maharashtra, Karnataka, have already set the course to ban flex banners because these are commonly used for electioneering by candidates during elections. The Election Commission of India had asked political parties not to use plastic banners for promotions during electioneering before the Assembly elections in 2016 in five states. Even the National Green Tribunal had directed the Ministry of Environment and Forests to ban or regulate the use of PVC or chlorinated plastic in the use of banners.

Speaking about the new product developed, Manjinder Sachdeva from Citizen Group said they have created a reliable alternative to flex material, which is used for printing banners. He said they have come up with a paper-based material, which is not only better than flexes, but also biodegradable, which gets decomposed within a year after these are disposed of. Even the cost of these is half than that of flexes, he said. These can be used indoors or outdoors, in rain and sunshine, just the way flexes are used, without any difference in colour. He said they got the research and development of the material done here, but got the paper made in Taiwan, as it was more viable to do so there. But the only difference from the flex was that this material needs support from behind like a board or wall, on which these can be pasted instead of just pasting on a frame like flexes.

Because of low cost, quickness in printing and setting these up, flexes have become popular, but these are also a huge environmental menace, but because solvent paper is a reliable alternative to these banners, these must be used instead, for the sake of environment, Sachdeva said.